A Light in the Darkness
by nathan.maccallum.75
Summary: Owain Dark knows no fear. However, he does know loneliness. Drawn across space and time into an epic clash between two kingdoms at war, the young man ends up with more than he bargained for when he falls for a young Nohrian Princess. Rated T for violence and some strong language. Follows the events/pairings of my previous works [Nathan (Robin) /Lissa as Odin's parents]. COMPLETE!
1. Premonition: Embrace the Dark

Premonition: Embrace the Dark

"…I'm so sorry, Ryoma. But I will not…I can not…fight for Hoshido."

Ryoma, the red-armoured Samurai Prince of Hoshido, bore a look of awe, shock and horror on his face. Standing across from him was his younger brother, Corrin, who had just returned to his side days before. Their mother had been killed by this…this Nohrian Scum, and yet the young white-haired sibling was unwilling to stay at his side in Hoshido?

"H-how can you say that?!" Ryoma desperately cried out, hoping this was some form of illusion. "Open your eyes, little brother! Can you not see how vile these Nohrians are? They're hateful fiends! THEY KILLED OUR MOTHER!"

His pleas were met with a pained look from the young white-haired prince, who shook his head in sorrow. "It's not that simple…" He mumbled. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, and the man felt close to tears as his grip tightened on his sword, the Yato, a sacred golden blade that had chosen him to wield it.

Corrin met the pained gaze of his brother with a steeled glare, managing to regain some of his composure. "I know what the Nohrian kingdom has done to Hoshido. I know that it is unforgivable." He began.

"And, while I know these are not my brothers and sisters by birth here in Nohr…they are the only family I have ever known."

The words cut into Ryoma like a knife. "How can you fight alongside those monsters after what they did?!" The Samurai prince yelled back, bordering on screaming. "You know of their sins! How can you justify joining them?"

He desperately held out his hand, hoping there was something, anything; he could do, to bring Corrin back to his senses.

"You are a Prince of Hoshido! Gods damn it…YOU ARE MY BROTHER, CORRIN!"

The white-armoured prince could no longer hold back his tears, as they slowly began to fall from his face. It felt as though his heart was being torn in two.

"Ryoma…my sorrow…is beyond words. But…Nohr, these people…they are my home. I'm sorry, I truly am."

The Hoshidan Prince fell silent, simply staring at Corrin with a look of shock on his face.

Xander, the Crown Prince of Nohr, slowly trotted up next to Corrin on the back of his black horse. Stopping next to his younger brother, he managed a small smile.

"You did the right thing, little prince." He told him.

"As you now know, you do not share the same bloodline as the rest of us. But it matters not. We have all regarded you as family since we first laid eyes upon you."

"You scum!" Ryoma spat from across the small plain. "Surely you must know of King Garon's attempt to murder Corrin!"

Xander turned his attention to the samurai, glaring warily at him.

"Explain yourself. Swiftly."

Ryoma scoffed, drawing his legendary blade, Raijinto, from its sheath on his belt, just in case things went sour. The way things were going at the moment; it certainly looked to be the case.

"There was an attack on our capital's square," He explained. "The explosion came from Corrin's sword, that…Ganglari. If mother hadn't sacrificed herself…your 'brother' would be dead now. If King Garon truly cares for Corrin, calls him 'family' as you claim…why would he risk the life of his own son, just for a chance to hurt Hoshido?"

Xander looked back to Corrin. "Is this true?" He asked.

The boy nodded. "It is. But I still need to hear father's side of the story. That's why I must return home right away. I have to know the truth of this tragedy."

As the Prince muttered this, a blast of Lightning shot out from Ryoma's sword, blowing a hole into the ground in front of Corrin. The white-armoured youth looked up at Ryoma, seeing a steeled glare from his blood brother.

"I'm afraid that is not an option. I will not allow you to return to Nohr until we've settled this on the battlefield!"

As Ryoma entered an offensive samurai battle stance, Corrin looked on in horror, unwilling to raise his blade. "Ryoma…please, don't do this!" He cried.

The Hoshidan Prince shook his head. "If you're looking for forgiveness, you will find none here," He warned. "You wish to side with Nohr? Then strike down your true brother. Face me, Corrin!"

Corrin shook his head, tears still flowing from his face. He had hardly gotten the chance to get to know his family in Hoshido, but he truly did care for them. The last thing he wished to do was to fight against any of them, much less Ryoma, whom he had grown quite fond of in the brief time they were able to spend together.

"You have squandered your birthright…it was your destiny to fight at my side!" Ryoma continued, anger seeping into his voice. "How dare you use the sacred Yato blade against your own kingdom!"

With that, Ryoma lunged at Corrin, but was unable to connect with a blow as the white-haired young prince was pushed out of the way by Xander, who blocked the strike from Ryoma's Raijinto with his own legendary weapon, the dark blade Siegfried.

"Stand down, Prince of Hoshido." The Nohrian Prince growled. "I will not allow you to cause any further harm to Corrin."

The brown-haired Samurai scoffed, readying his legendary weapon once again. "Order me around once more, and Nohr will lose two princes today."

Xander laughed at the man as he readied Siegfried. "I always knew it would come to this. The Crown prince of Nohr, clashing blades with Hoshido's heir. It's almost poetic."

Ryoma spat on the ground in disgust. "If you mean to fight, then fight! You shall soon be a mere stain on my sacred blade, Raijinto!"

He turned to the rest of his siblings who stood behind him on the battlefield. "Hinoka! Takumi! Sakura! Are you ready?"

The three Hoshidan siblings nodded to their older brother, drawing their weapons.

Xander turned back to his own siblings; Leo, Camilla, and Elise, who had also been watching warily from behind their older brother. "It's time! We must defend our homeland!"

Camilla nodded, her purple hair waving around on her head as she did. "I swear to protect our dear Corrin no matter what!" She cheerily declared.

"Failure is no option," Leo added, sitting atop his own black horse, wearing his signature black dark knight armour. "Let's show those scoundrels what it means to be a family!"

"I'm ready too!" Elise added with a huge grin on her face, the long blonde pigtails she kept her hair in bobbing up and down. "Let's finish this quickly, though, I'm starving!"

"This is it! Attack!" Ryoma cried, charging forward with his blade drawn as the rest of the Hoshidans followed suit.

As they collided with the armies of Nohr, Corrin felt his decision starting to sink in. Truly, there was no turning back now.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I just recently finished Revelations, and figured it was time to start writing again. I decided to go with Conquest as it was the path I liked most and I found the story was one I could actually work with, and Owain/Odin is the man. This first chapter is moreso just a setup for the entire story, as I felt it was necessary to at least write out the decision. The actual parts of the story will begin with Chapter 1.**

 **I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review of what you thought of the first part here, and we'll be underway with the tale of Odin Dark soon enough! :)**

 **-Nate**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: From Sword Hands to Fell Hands

 **-ONE MONTH AFTER CORRIN'S DECISION-**

"My…my aching b-blood! It…freezes in th-th-this sheer c-cold!"

"Perhaps if you had worn something warmer, Odin, like Prince Leo suggested, you wouldn't be having that problem right now…"

Odin glared at the man, teeth still chattering from the snowy weather surrounding them. Niles, his companion, grinned back mockingly. He wore a thick blue cloak, shielding him from most of the oncoming snow, and had a black eyepatch covering his left eye.

The two had been assigned aid Corrin in his efforts to quell the rebellion of the Ice Tribe. At first, it seemed to be an easy mission, but the journey to the Ice village was a much harder obstacle than expected. The weather was merciless in the area, and the closer they thought they were to their destination, the stronger the snowstorms and winds seemed to get.

"We have to be close by now…" Niles grumbled, tugging at the sides of his cloak as the two continued to trudge through the snow. It was almost up to their knees by this time, and was making it very difficult to keep going. Odin felt this especially hard, as he had refused to wear anything more than his signature tight yellow dark mage robes, fearing it would 'prevent the dark spirits from communing with him'.

The two felt like they wouldn't be able to carry on, as the snow seemed to create a white curtain across their horizon. Suddenly, the raging winds came to an abrupt stop, with the snow at their feet letting up as well. Odin and Niles looked around in confusion, drawing their weapons, before seeing the small hamlet they had entered. It looked as though they were just in time as well, spotting Corrin and his forces nearby clashing with Ice tribe warriors.

"Should we…introduce ourselves, or…" Odin muttered, casually flipping through the pages of the purple tome he carried.

Niles chuckled, pulling an arrow from the quiver on his back. "Well, If you want to, be my-"

"THE DARKNESS IS CALLING…WHISPERING…" Odin bellowed, suddenly drawing the attention of everyone nearby. "It's saying…hmm…ah, I understand. The shadows within say our foes are unwitting yet dangerous. So the treacherous hand of fate has decided it. It looks as though things are grim – I must use the darkness swarming inside of me to claim victory!"

After standing in confusion for a few moments, the nearby Ice tribe warriors charged at Odin and Niles, readying their weapons. Niles rolled his eye, brushing his white hair from his face and groaning slightly as he picked off the enemy troops with a flurry of arrows.

"You're a damn weirdo, Odin. But you know that, don't you?"

However, the dark mage was far past paying attention at this point, busy yelling names for his magical attacks as he clashed with the Ice tribe villagers.

Corrin rushed over to the two newcomers, raising an eyebrow at Niles as he approached.

"You two seem like you're on our side, but I have to ask, who are you?"

Odin turned back to the man after casting another spell to blow back a few more of their enemies. "Didn't you hear me? About the darkness? Gods, some people are so rude."

Niles groaned somewhat, jokingly pushing Odin out of the way. "This will probably be a lot faster if you direct the questions to me…"

"Who am I, you ask?" Odin bellowed, cutting off Niles with his booming voice and stretching out his hand to strike a dramatic pose. "I am none other than…Odin Dark! Keeper of darkness and legendary warrior! My sword – er, FELL hand twitches for battle! My blood aches to destroy my enemies!"

"And I'm Niles. The two of us are Prince Leo's retainers. He sent us here to aid you." Niles explained, getting himself a brief chuckle out of Odin's antics.

"Well, I'm very grateful…" Corrin replied, giving the two men a warm smile. "But there will be time for more pleasantries when we finish this fight. For now, your help will be greatly appreciated in defeating the rest of these warriors!"

"Well, there certainly won't be a problem with that…" Niles scoffed, pulling another arrow from his quiver; "This village will be filled with bodies before you can even lift a finger."

"Ah, for once, we agree, Sir Niles!" Odin chimed in. "These fools don't stand a chance against my legendary dark magic!"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on, no killing you two!" Corrin called just as the two were about to rush off.

"What? But I had about twelve new attacks I planned to use to eviscerate these foul enemies!" Odin complained.

"We're here to stop the rebellion, not to kill everyone in sight," Corrin snapped back with a stern frown. "No casualties, as long as we can avoid it. Alright?"

Odin and Niles let out long, disappointed sighs as they trudged off into the battlefield.

"Now then, come on everyone! We have to reach Kilma!" Corrin cried, rallying his troops as he raised his golden Yato once again. The rest of the Nohrian forces gathered around the man and the group charged back into the fray once more.

Corrin's squadron was quite small, but certainly knew how to handle themselves. Silas was a very skilled young knight who had been a childhood friend of Corrin's, and his talents definitely managed to shine through in the heated conflict. Elise, the younger sister of Corrin, hung back behind the others, stepping in to heal anyone who got wounded. Her retainers, Effie and Arthur, were both very physically fit and hung back as a 'defensive wall' for the group, picking off any warriors from the Ice tribe who got too close to their precious Lady Elise. Felicia was reluctant to fight against her own people, so herself and Mozu, a small village girl, brought up the rear, doing their best to avoid confrontation.

To Odin, fights like this were second nature. He didn't want to seem too overconfident, but with his sword in hand he would probably have been able to do most of the fighting in the village on his own.

However, this was different. In this world, he was a dark mage. He had to ensure that he was using just the enough power to keep himself and the others alive, but also using a tome was much different than the blade-to-blade combat he was used to. He was starting to get the hang of it, but sometimes missed the feel of gripping his blue and black blade in his hand.

"Hey, look out!"

The man turned over in time to see a stray arrow heading in his direction, managing to dodge it just in time. A flick of his hand sent the archer that had launched the arrow flying back.

Elise, the youngest Nohrian Princess, trotted up next to the dark mage on the back of her horse, grinning widely at him.

"You'd better keep your head up, mister, or you might lose it!" She joked. Odin smiled back to her, winking playfully.

"I shall do as you command, Lady Elise!" He shouted emphatically, waving his hands about in the air for dramatic effect. This got a giggle out of the Princess, as she blushed slightly. Odin thought she looked quite adorable when she smiled.

While both of them knew of the other, Odin being a retainer to Leo and Elise having her own retainers meant that interactions between the two were very few and far between. Elise had not admitted it to anyone, even Effie, her best friend and most loyal retainer, but she had developed a massive crush on the dark mage after seeing him about the castle. He was not only quite good looking and well built, but she found his quirky personality and dramatic speech to be quite attractive.

As for Odin, he was completely clueless to Elise's feelings. After all, he hardly ever saw the young Princess outside of family get-togethers between the Nohrian royals, and was too focused on Prince Leo to worry about his love life. He was in Nohr for a much different purpose than that, and frankly, it was one of the last things on his mind at this point in his life.

Odin had charged off back into the heat of battle, and was aiding Corrin and Silas in taking down Kilma, the leader of the Ice tribe. Felicia was tending to the wounds of Arthur and Effie, leaving Elise sitting on her horse alone in the snow.

"Er, um…so, you're Odin, right?" Elise muttered to herself. "Oh, I can't do that, that's playing way too hard to get, and probably would make me seem pretty mean if I didn't even know his name…"

The Princess let out a sigh of frustration. She never had a problem talking with anyone else, in fact, she considered herself very potent at holding a conversation. Talking to someone she had such strong romantic feelings towards, however, felt like such a daunting task.

"Elise? Eh? Are you there?"

Felicia walking up next to her snapped the Elise out of her thoughts.

"Corrin and the others managed to reason with Kilma. We have to go tend to the rest of the wounded from the Ice Tribe, alright?"

Elise shook her head slightly, trying to break out of her own thoughts about Odin. There would be time for that later, hopefully.

"Alrighty! Lead the way!"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Some Kind of Problem

It was a long journey back to Castle Krakenburg, so Odin figured it would be a good time to get to know Corrin, the leader of their group and the one whom they had been sent to aid in the first place. He found it hard to keep up with the activities of the other Nohrian royal family members apart from Leo, but from what he knew of the man, Corrin was an honest young Prince and quite kind and compassionate, almost to a fault. He had been raised in isolation, and was just now getting to see the world, which made him oblivious in many ways to the struggles of common life.

"Greetings, Milord!" Odin called as he ran up next to the white-haired Nohrian Prince.

"Ah…Odin, wasn't it? Is there something I can do for you?" The man responded with a small smile.

"Not at the moment, oh wise Prince," Odin told the man. "I merely wished to make your acquaintance. There was no opportunity for us to truly get to know each other on the battlefield, after all."

Corrin nodded and chuckled slightly. "That's true. Well, you probably already know all about me, from Prince Leo. My name seems to have been tossed around quite a bit, given all that's gone on lately…"

"Ah yes, Lord Leo did speak of your fateful decision to remain with the Nohrians. Such a painful choice would no doubt weigh upon the mind of anyone, especially the one who was forced to make it…"

The young Prince nodded in agreement. "You're right in saying it was a painful choice, but I can't say it's one I regret," Corrin explained. "Leo and the others may not be my siblings by blood, but I've grown up with them by my side. I could never turn my sword against them."

The Prince paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyways, enough about that. Tell me about yourself. You seem very…eccentric, to say the least is that common in your homeland?"

Odin laughed awkwardly, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Well…not exactly. However, I'm not from anywhere around here…"

"Oh? Where exactly are you from then? And how did you get here?"

"Er…I'd prefer not to answer that," Odin muttered back, "For personal reasons."

"Oh, sorry for prying too much," Corrin quickly apologized. "I'm just very…curious, I suppose. I don't know a lot about even Hoshido and Nohr, and nothing about the land outside of it. I just got a bit too intrigued when you said you weren't from around here."

"No need to apologize, Milord," Odin chuckled. "It's only natural to be curious of the unknown. After all, the Dark aura within me is mysterious and brooding…"

"The…Dark Aura? I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you're talking about…"

Odin scoffed, a smug smirk forming on his face. "Hmph. I assumed this would be the case. From the moment we first locked eyes, I knew you were not one of the chosen ones…"

"A…chosen one? What in the name of the gods are you talking about?" Corrin replied, raising an eyebrow of concern at the blonde-haired dark mage.

"Us chosen heroes possess the power to commune with the darkness, as it festers within our very souls, threatening to consume all!" Odin cried, raising his hand to try and stress the drama in his speech. "It is only by divine will and our great strength that the darkness is held at bay!"

"So you've got darkness…eating you…from inside of you?" Corrin asked, scratching his head. "You should probably get that looked at by someone, maybe talk to a healer or something?"

Odin let out a long groan. For such a capable fighter, clearly Corrin's lack of real-world experience had lead to a lack of creativity within his mind.

"Such a shame…" Odin muttered to himself. "You could have been a chosen one…dare I say it, maybe even a cabal member eventually…"

"Huh? Were you saying something?" Corrin inquired, having zoned out from paying attention to the dark mage. "Didn't quite catch that."

"It was nothing Milord. Anyways, the darkness is calling me elsewhere, so I fear I must take my leave. It was good to make your acquaintance!"

As the Dark mage wandered off to mingle with the others in their small unit, Corrin scratched his head in confusion. The 'Darkness Within'? Maybe Odin really did have some sort of medical problem. Regardless, there were too many things weighing on his mind for the Prince to be bothered by it. Once they returned home to Windmire, he would have to make quite the explanation to his father for his actions…

Elise looked on tentatively from afar as she watched Odin conversing with Niles, flailing his hands about as though he was telling some sort of dramatic tale of heroism. She giggled to herself as she could see Niles rolling his eyes at the dark mage. Odin appeared to be trying to describe some sort of huge explosion, judging from all the sound effects and loud yells he seemed to be adding.

"Lookin' on from afar again, huh Lady Elise?"

The young healer jumped slightly, and turned about to see Effie, one of her loyal retainers and also her best friend, trudging up next to her. The grey-haired young woman wore large pink armour covering her whole body, and was quite muscular, devoting most of her life to physical fitness.

"Er…uh…watching what, Effie? Heh…heh…" Elise sputtered back, trying to add sheepish laughter to bolster her less-than-convincing lie. She could feel her facing beginning to heat up as Effie chuckled slightly at her with a bit of a grin.

"Oh, come on, you don't really think I'm that oblivious do ya?" The knight teased. "I'm more brawn than brain, that's for sure, but I'm also a girl, so I can tell these kinds of things. You stare at him nearly every time he's nearby. To be honest, I was wondering when you'd develop a crush on someone…"

Elise let out a glum sigh, knowing her ruse hadn't worked. She wasn't great at lying in the first place, anyways.

"So…what do I do? How do I…talk to him, get to know him, and all that?" Elise asked Effie curiously. The buff knight laughed heartily at her friend's question.

"Sorry Girl, but I'm certainly not the person to come to for advice on that," She explained. "My focus is on protecting you, and I'd never be interested in a guy who isn't stronger than me. Not that anyone like that exists out there anyways…"

With that, Effie said her goodbyes to Elise and trudged off to try and find something to eat, leaving Elise walking on her own. She looked around at the rest of the group she was travelling with. Who could she ask for advice about something like this? There weren't many she trusted with such a fragile secret. Even Arthur, her other retainer and close friend, was off the table. After all, with his bad luck, even if he didn't mean to spill the beans about Elise's secret crush it would probably happen anyways by some manner of bizarre accident.

Elise's eyes widened as the perfect candidate to talk to dawned upon her. She had to tell Corrin! If there was anyone she could trust, it was her big brother, and even if he didn't have any advice on talking to boys she liked, which she assumed he wouldn't, there was no doubt in her mind that the Nohrian Prince would do whatever he could to help her out.

There was a certain skip in Elise's step for the rest of the trip home that Corrin noticed, which he found slightly odd. Little did he know that he would be finding out why very soon.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Weight of the world

Upon finally returning home to Windmire, the capital of Nohr, Odin was able to find a bit of spare time in his schedule, with Corrin and the others heading to speak with King Garon about the battle with the Ice tribe. He took the break as a chance to sit in his room within Castle Krakenburg and mull over his thoughts. It felt like he had been in Nohr so long sometimes, to the point where he forgot why he and the others had come to the kingdom in the first place. Corrin's decision to return to his home in Nohr seemed to have put an obstacle in the path, however. Without cooperation between the two kingdoms, it would be near impossible to defeat Anankos…

Odin shook his head to try and break free from his thoughts. It would more than likely be a long time before he would have to worry about dealing with that problem. That bridge would be crossed when they got to it.

"Is Prince Leo finished his council with King Garon?" The dark mage muttered to himself, switching his train of thought. "I should be awaiting his exit from the throne room, in case I can be of service!"

With that, the young man stormed off, intent on fulfilling his duties towards his liege. Perhaps there would be another mission for him to undertake soon enough.

As Odin would later discover, King Garon had already delegated another task to Corrin. This time, the group was headed to Notre Sagesse. The white-haired Prince had quite a bit on his mind, given the events that had just unfolded in the throne room. King Garon, the man he called 'Father', had ordered Xander to kill Corrin. Only some quick vouching from the rest of his Nohrian siblings had saved the man from an early death. While he had not, technically, properly completed the task King Garon had originally assigned to him, the mission was done. Corrin's faith in his foster father was fading more and more by the day, it seemed.

"Hey, Corrin! You got a moment?"

The Prince spun around to see Elise standing in the doorway to his small bedroom, carrying her small bag of things on her back and grinning cheerfully at the man.

"Sure thing, Elise," Corrin replied warmly. "What can I do for you?"

The Nohrian Princess nervously wandered into the room, taking a seat next to her big brother. He scratched his head slightly, wondering what his sister wished to discuss with him.

"So, uh…"

"Yes?"

Elise paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to tell her dilemma to the man. "So…there's this guy…"

"A guy? Well, this is new," Corrin chuckled. "Do I get to know his name?"

There was another long pause before Elise shook her head, now beginning to blush. "Not yet. Maybe later on."

"Is it Odin?"

"Wha – Gods! How does everyone know?!" Elise whined. "Do I really make it that obvious?"

Corrin smirked slightly. "Well, when I was talking to you on the trek back home, I don't think you looked at me once when he was nearby," The young Prince explained. "…I also may have overheard some of your conversation with Effie. She's awfully loud, you know – I'm surprised Odin didn't hear you two as well!"

Elise wrinkled her nose in a slightly frustrated expression. "Buncha meanies you guys are, figuring out all my secrets…" She grumbled. "So, what do you think? Do you think he likes me?"

The white-haired man groaned. "Elise, I'm just finally getting to know the man…that being said, I'm not the greatest when it comes to romance in the first place. After all, I lived in a fort with about ten other people for over ten years…"

"Well, can't you try to find out for me or something?"

Corrin sighed. "Sorry Elise, but it feels like I have the weight of all of Nohr on my back right now. I don't have time for your boy problems. Why don't you talk to Xander, or Leo, or Camilla?"

The Blonde Princess felt her heart sink. "Yeah, you're right." She replied glumly. "Sorry for bothering you, Corrin."

As she slowly trudged out of the room, dragging her feet, Corrin stopped her before she could leave.

"Oh come on Elise. I know that came across as a little harsh, but you know what I mean. You'll be fine without my help. Just go talk to the guy! Get to know him! You're one of the most talkative and cheery people in this army, and everyone likes you-where's the trouble in adding another person to that list?"

"But it's scary!"

Corrin laughed to himself. "Here, I'll make you a deal," He offered. "I'll try to help you out with your boy troubles, if you learn how to use tomes. It would be awfully helpful to have another magic user in our party. How does that sound?"

"So all I've gotta do is read some books to get you to help me out? Deal!" Elise cheerfully replied. With that, she skipped happily out of the room, leaving Corrin standing in the doorway and scratching his head.

"Odin, huh? Well, I suppose this'll be interesting, at the very least…" He muttered to himself as he headed back to packing his things. There was another long trek ahead of the group, and with the added task of figuring out Odin, the Young Prince certainly felt like he had his plate full.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: One with the darkness

It was getting to be almost night, and so Corrin and the others had been teleported by Lillith to their home castle on the astral plane. With most of the others heading to bed, Elise had decided to stay up to read the new books about magic Corrin had given her. A few pages into the text and Elise let out a loud groan of frustration, slamming the text shut.

"How do people read these? They're so BORING!" She complained. "And how is reading these gonna make me any better at magic? This would be so much easier if I could just watch someone casting the spells, or just do them myself!"

After a few more failed attempts at getting through some of the book without nearly dozing off, the Princess decided to go for a walk about the castle. Anything was better than doing more reading, after all.

Her stroll about the castle brought her to the training grounds. A preliminary scan of the area shown it was empty, but upon further examination the Princess spotted a blonde figure sleeping on a bench off to the side of the training area.

She approached cautiously, not wanting to wake the figure. She blushed once she had reached him, looking upon the calm sleeping figure of Odin. The young man was snoring softly, with the occasional snort as he did. There was a small pool of drool next to his mouth, indicating that the young man had been sleeping on the bench for at least a significant while.

Elise scratched her head while staring down at the man. What was she supposed to do, exactly? He certainly looked content; all curled up like that, snoring away…

The Princess nearly jumped as Odin began to stir, letting out a small yawn. Panic got the best of her as she blurted out, "HI, ODIN!"

The Dark mage, now equally startled, nearly fell off the bench as his eyes shot open, flailing his hands about while looking for a weapon.

"WHAAAA! MOTHER, NOT ANOTHER PRANK – huh?"

Odin slowly regained his senses as he looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Spotting Elise staring down at him and giggling softly, he did his best to find his composure.

"Er…um…" The man stuttered before clearing his throat. "Hello, Milady Elise. Can I be of service to you?"

The Princess smiled nervously. "N-not really, Odin. I just saw you sleeping out here, and I…wasn't sure what you were doing, so I thought I would wake you up."

Odin gulped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. If some of the others, or Naga forbid, Laslow, found out about him falling asleep on the training grounds… well, he would likely never hear the end of it. The Dark mage smirked at Elise, scoffing at her.

"Hah. That's cute, if not ridiculous. I was…merely testing a new charm, that's all."

Elise's eyes lit up with curiosity. "OOOH, what kind?" She eagerly pressed. "Is it a snore charm? Or maybe a drooling charm? Ooh, maybe it's a-"

"Actually, it's a charm entrusted to me by the demons of the night." Odin quickly replied, cutting off the Princess. This talk seemed to be having the opposite effect of what the Dark mage was hoping for, as the discussion of Odin's magical powers only intrigued Elise further. After all, she was trying to learn magic, and if she had to pick a teacher, Odin would most certainly be her first choice.

The man continued to ramble, getting caught up in his own theatrics, as always seemed to be the case.

"This special charm allows me to tap into the netherworld at will to aid me in my eternal crusade for-"

"Tap into the nether who? Sounds fancy! What is that?"

"Er, it is what the fragile labyrinth of the human mind craves most of all…" Odin shot back. Normally, he would give anything for someone to show interest in his…'odd' ramblings, but this was the one time he was looking for the opposite, and it did not appear to be working. "It is a taste of the knowingness of death, and the fell powers of the silent darkness-"

"Huh? You have a fragile labyrinth for a mind?" Elise questioned.

Odin was being put on his heels, having to improvise so much in so little time. "Yes, and it remains hidden in a beautiful veil of darkness until I…"

"Wait, so you were lifting a veil of darkness? Ooh, cool! How does that work?"

Odin groaned, unable to keep up his complicated lie. "All, right, you win, Lady Elise. I was asleep, OK?"

Elise frowned slightly. "What? But that's so lame!" She pouted. "I like what you were telling me better. Go back to the part about the fragile labyrinth and all the darkness!"

Odin scratched his head, feeling slightly skeptical at Elise's interest in his talks. For some reason, in this world it seemed increasingly rare to find someone who shared his love for theatrics and darkness.

"You…think…what I'm talking about…is cool?"

"Yeah! All this stuff about darkness, I don't know how you come up with it, but no one else does anything like it!"

The young man laughed. "Well, I'm afraid if you wish to discuss the darkness, it will have to wait for another time. The spirits call to me, I must bid you farewell!"

Before the man could walk off, Elise grabbed his sleeve, stopping him.

"Hm? Is there a problem, Milady?"

"Er, well, kinda…" She replied, blushing, as she felt overcome with nervousness once again. She twirled her pigtails and felt herself beginning to twitch as she tried to explain herself to the man. Odin was starting to catch onto this, also noticing a lack of eye contact from the Princess.

"So, uh…Corrin wants me to learn magic," She explained, doing her best not to stutter. "And he got me all these really boring old books, where half of what they say I can't even understand what they're talking about! So, er…I was thinking…maybe you could teach me, and help me out?"

Elise finally managed to stare Odin in the eyes, getting a warm grin from the man. "As it so happens, the dark spirits that were calling me appeared to have postponed their summoning of my presence," He answered with a slight smirk. "So, I shall aid you in your quest for magical power!"

The Princess could hardly contain her excitement, nearly jumping for joy at the Dark Mage's response. "Woo hoo! Alright, I'll meet you at my room in a few minutes, okay?"

Before the Dark mage could respond, Elise had already sped off as fast as he little legs would carry her, blonde pigtails bouncing about as she happily skipped back to her room. Odin watched her leave, scratching his head with a fond smile on his face.

"This is certainly interesting…" He muttered to himself, chuckling softly. "Well, it's what father would do! Er, at least, I think it is…"

With that, Odin trotted off to follow Elise; unsure as to what exactly he was getting himself into.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Elise was fortunate enough to make it back to her room with a few minutes to spare before Odin's arrival. This gave her some extra time to clean the place up, or at least try to. The Nohrian Princess scrambled about her small bedroom, trying to do everything from straightening the bright pink curtains covering the window to tossing some of the games she had left out on the floor into a small pile in the corner of the room. She managed to kick her clothes under her bed just before there was a knock on her door.

"Lady Elise?"

The Cleric looked about the room one last time before taking a seat on her bed, straightening her clothes and the bows on her pigtails before squeaking, "Come in!"

As Odin slowly opened the door, the first thing he noticed was how much more bright and colourful Elise's room was compared to the rooms of the other members of the army. The walls were still made up of their usual grey worn stones, there were all sorts of extra accessories livening up the quaint space. The bed sheets were coloured in an odd mix between pink and purple, complete with a few pink pillows up on the end of the bed.

"Hm. You have a very nice rooming area here, milady!" Odin concluded. "The lively colours reflect your cheerful and energetic spirit!"

Elise blushed at the compliment, giggling slightly as Odin took a seat next to the Princess on her bed.

"Now then, I believe you summoned me here with learning about magic in mind? And didn't you have some books from Corrin?"

"Oh! Shoot! The books!" Elise cried. She realized that in her scramble to clean the room, she must have thrown the books somewhere as well. The Princess scrambled over to her stack of games and trinkets, throwing them back around the room while she searched for the old books from Corrin. Odin sat awkwardly on the bed for a few moments, unsure of what to do before he came up with an idea. The young man pulled a purple tome from his robes and turned to Elise.

"Never fear, milady!" He declared. "This is the perfect moment to show you one of the many powers held within the tomes of power we mages wield! Observe!"

The Dark mage rose his 'Fell hand', closing his eyes and taking deep breaths while Elise looked on with curiosity.

"Now then…describe the sacred texts we are searching for, Milady…"

"Well, they're um…kinda big?" The Princess offered. "Oh! And one is a dark red, and the other one is purple, the same shade as the tome you're holding!"

Odin smirked. "Very interesting…" He mumbled in response, slowly moving his hand about the room, seemingly scanning it with his magical powers. The man let out a sudden yell of excitement, nearly causing Elise to jump.

"Ah! I have acquired their location!" The Dark mage declared, cackling dramatically as his palm began to be surrounded by a pitch-black aura.

"…You can't hide from me!"

As the young man muttered these words and brought his palm into a fist, the two large texts shot out from under the bed, flying upwards to Odin while also blowing out many of the dirty clothes Elise had stuffed down under as well. As they softly landed on the bed in front of him, one dirty, pink sock was still stuck in the dark red text, slid slightly inside of the front flap. Odin slowly pulled it out, holding it up between his index finger and thumb. He turned to Elise, who was watching him with a now horrified look.

"I'm assuming this is yours, and not actually part of the book…" He joked, tossing the sock aside. Elise breathed a quick sigh of relief before giggling at her friend and finding her seat back on the bed next to him.

"So, are you gonna teach me how to do that?" She asked eagerly.

Odin shrugged. "We'll see," He replied. Turning his attention back to the two texts in front of him on the bed, he picked up the red one and cracked it open. "I believe we're here to read this, however…"

Elise groaned quietly. She certainly wasn't too keen on reading the books, with Odin or without. The Dark mage grinned slightly at her, playfully shoving her slightly with his elbow, eliciting a small giggle from the Princess.

As Odin began reading the text, after a minute or two, Elise let out a yawn and fell back on the bed, letting her soft pigtails bounce off the pink pillows.

"You're bored of this already?" Odin questioned, frowning at the girl. "You know, if you don't bother to try and understand this, you're not going to be able to harness the darkness within you…"

"Oh, I'm not saying we're done reading!" Elise quickly replied. "I'm just tired, and it's late. Why don't you just come lie down with me, and keep reading?"

Odin gave the Princess a skeptical look. He didn't know much about girls, but if his mother and sister had taught him anything, it was that suspicious behaviour from women almost always meant there was a prank involved. Or, at least, that was usually what happened…

"I'll…pass…" The dark mage declared cautiously. He let out a nervous laugh as he shut the book, getting up and looking out the window.

"H-huh! You're right, it sure is getting late!" He stammered, starting to sweat a little. "I'd better get going…um…nice talking with you, Lady Elise!"

"Odin-"

The Princess's reply was far less than quick enough, as Odin had bolted out the door within a matter of seconds. The Princess let out a long defeated sigh before climbing under the covers of her bed.

"What did I do wrong? Maybe he just doesn't like me…" She mumbled glumly to herself. Her emotions were a mix of sorrow and frustration, sad at Odin's sudden exit, but also frustrated at not knowing what the man had found so…unappealing…that it had forced him to leave.

The Princess angrily kicked her legs from under the covers, knocking the two old books off her bed and onto the stone floor.

Elsewhere within the castle grounds, Odin was strolling off, particularly pleased with himself at avoiding one of Elise's pranks.

"Ha! I wasn't going to let her fool the magnificent Odin Dark!" He muttered to himself with a small smug grin. The grin faded within seconds, however, as he changed his angle of thought on the situation.

"But…what if she wasn't pranking me? That probably seemed awfully odd, and rude, if that was the case…"

The Dark mage quickly dismissed the idea. "Impossible!" He muttered to himself. "Mother and Morgan always acted like that when they were pulling pranks. She must have had some sort of dastardly plan in mind!"

Having convinced himself of his own read of the situation, Odin headed off to get some sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day, Corrin and the others continued their travels to Notre Sagesse. The route they were taking had brought the group to Fort Dragonfall, a large Hoshidan fort that was rumoured to actually be made of the remains of a once living dragon. Before engaging the Hoshidans, the group had stopped for a brief rest and also to plan out their strategy for attacking the fortress.

Elise was sitting on the grass as Corrin discussed his plans with the others for the upcoming battle. She was far more busy being lost in thought, and also, as per usual, staring at Odin. The Dark Mage seemed to be taking in all of Corrin's strategies and silently judging them. Elise noticed Odin, at various times, would very slightly shake his head in disapproval, or nod in agreement, when Corrin suggested a battle tactic. She scratched her head, trying to figure out what the Dark Mage was thinking about.

Odin raised an eyebrow slightly at Corrin's latest suggestion. It was becoming easier and easier to tell that the young Prince had been thrust into a leadership position almost on accident, and that he was still acclimatizing to the role. While his ability to encourage the others was unrivaled, his tactics could certainly use some work.

"Erm, may I suggest something?" The man finally asked, breaking his silence. Corrin and the others looked at Odin. The young Prince raised an eyebrow and gave Odin a skeptic look.

"…Sure, Odin. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, your suggestion of storming the front gates of Fort Dragonfall seems unrealistic, given our current numbers," Odin commented, getting strange looks and slight glares even from the others. "We're all quite strong, but I think we'd be better served looking for another entrance to the fort instead of trying to smash our way through the front door? After all, the element of surprise couldn't hurt…"

Corrin was still eyeing Odin quite skeptically, giving the man a soft glare. "That would be true, but there aren't any other entrances to the fort." He explained. "Our only option is to storm the entrance. And yes I have accounted for the numbers issue-"

"Yes, there are no other **visible** entrances," Odin quickly replied, cutting the man off, "However, from what we know of this place, it is quite old, yes? That means there will more than likely be a few areas of the fort with much less fortified walls. We can…make our own entrance, from an area like that."

"…But there's no guarantee we can find something like that." Silas mused, scratching his short silver hair. "I like your thinking, Odin, but we can't go in with a plan that we don't even know is possible."

"Yeah, but isn't that a better idea than risking needless casualties?" Elise finally piped up, causing everyone to suddenly swivel their heads and direct their attention to her. Corrin was not quite surprised that Elise would side with Odin, but still somewhat irritated by it.

"The point is, there is no way to know that we can even find an entrance like that, Lady Elise," Effie replied. "It's bad strategy to run in without a proper plan-"

"But the proper plan is to try and make sure no one gets killed, right?" Odin suddenly snapped back, beginning to lose his cool. He was flabbergasted that no one, save for Elise, was agreeing with his plan. Calling it bad strategy was the final straw for the man. His father had taught him everything he knew about battle tactics, and while he paled in comparison to his father or Morgan, he knew enough to be able to tell good and bad strategy when presented with it.

"Look, just trust me on this, all right? I know what I'm talking about, I swear. I…learned quite a bit, about tactics, long ago. I promise we'll find another way in."

There was a brief, nervous silence before Corrin finally let out a defeated sigh.

"Okay. We look for another way in. If we can't find one, we storm the front entrance. It can't hurt, after all."

As the others dispersed to prepare for battle, Odin let out a quick sigh of relief. He never enjoyed verbal confrontation, much less with allies, but he preferred it to watching needless deaths.

The situation he was in had most certainly not been helped by him feeling Elise's watchful gaze on him for the entire meeting. He had spotted her out of the corner of his eye, and avoided eye contact once he noticed she was watching him.

"No doubt planning another prank, I'd presume…" He muttered to himself. The little Princess seemed quite scheming, and he had to ensure he would be prepared for whatever she tried to pull. That being said, he was still quite appreciative of her willingness to side with him. The Dark mage figured it would be a good idea to go thank her, so long as she wasn't going to…dump a frog down his shirt, or something of the like.

As Corrin walked off, he was beginning to feel quite frustrated with Odin. While he could not deny that the man's suggestion had made sense, a sudden intelligent remark from the man just appeared to be…very…out of character, so to speak. It seemed very much like he was hiding something from them, and now the Nohrian Prince was determined to find out what.

He looked nearby to see Odin approaching Elise. Seeing the two interact reminded him of how much Elise cared seemed to care for the young man. While he didn't quite approve of her interest in Odin, Corrin knew that his little sister's love life was none of his business. But he couldn't hate a man that seemed to make his foster sister so happy. He was, however, going to find out more about Odin, because Elise asked him to, but also to keep an extra eye on the man.

Not far from the man, Odin and Elise were walking around together, having a quick discussion. Elise was asking far too many questions about where Odin knew his tactics from, and the man was less than comfortable with answering them.

"So who taught you? Were they a tactician, like that Yukimura guy in Hoshido?" She prodded.

"Er…I can't say. It's…private." Odin slowly replied.

"Oh, come on!" Elise whined. "Where's the fun in that? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret origin story, Odin Dark!"

The Dark mage got a good chuckle out of Elise's remark, much to the Princess's delight. "Alright, fine. But I'm not telling you very much," He conceded. "After all, as a master of the darkness, I must remain clouded in the shadows…"

Elise nodded, her pigtails quickly bobbing up and down as she grinned widely at the man. She was very excited at the possibility of learning more about her crush.

"So, I learned about tactics…from my Father."

"Ooh, wow! What's his name? Where does he live?"

Odin rubbed his head sheepishly. "Very, very far from here," He replied. "It's hard to explain. And I can't tell you his name, but he was a great tactician where I'm from. The best, and strongest, in my opinion. He saved the world from an evil dragon, too!"

"Whoaaa!" Elise marveled, her eyes seeming to sparkle as she imagined what she thought Odin's father looked like. "So can you tell me the story of how he killed the evil dragon guy sometime?"

"Hey, come on, you guys! We've got to get moving!" Silas called from nearby, before Odin could reply to Elise.

"Er…another time, maybe." He declared, winking at her with a bit of a grin before walking off to grab his tomes for battle.

As he did, Odin shook his head slightly. Why was he so…relaxed, around Elise? There was something about her that seemed to make her value the girl much more than the others he had met in this world, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it.

The Dark Mage dismissed the problem for now, banishing it from his thoughts. After all, they had a battle to win, and he had some tactics to prove. There would be plenty of time to deal with his 'strange new feelings' afterwards.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As it so happened, Odin's hunch was correct. The group met up with a young-looking female Dark mage named Nyx, who joined their cause and also showed the group to a damaged section of the fort wall. Her magical powers, combined with Odin's, were more than enough to blast through the section and create a makeshift 'entrance' into Fort Dragonfall, catching the Hoshidan soldiers off guard. As the group made their way through the fort, Odin found himself fighting alongside of Nyx quite often, the two developing excellent team chemistry due to their similar fighting techniques and use of dark magic.

Elise happened to notice this as well, and was, frankly, quite jealous. It had taken her forever to even get the chance to talk with Odin, and this random new dark mage just got to team up with him right away? To make matters worse, the two seemed to be working perfectly together, supporting Corrin and Silas as they plowed through the enemy front lines.

"Lady Elise! Pay attention, please!" Effie yelled, snapping the Princess back to reality. A group of Hoshidan soldiers had ambushed the group from behind, being fought off by Arthur and Effie. The two were horribly outnumbered, and beginning to show fatigue as they blocked the enemy from reaching Elise.

"Er, r-right! Sorry, Effie!" Elise stammered, raising her staff and freezing a few of the Hoshidans in place, just for long enough to let Arthur smash them out of the way with his Axe.

Corrin turned back, hearing the frantic battle cries of Effie and Arthur. Seeing the situation they were in, he turned to the others with him trying to press further into the fort. He would have to send at least one of them back to help out. A ranged fighter would be most helpful, no doubt…

While Odin was the first who came to his mind, he quickly dismissed the idea. As much as he didn't want to influence Elise's love life, he didn't feel the need to actively get the two together whenever possible.

"Niles!" He yelled, catching the eye of the silver-haired outlaw. "Effie and the others need some support! Get back there!"

The young man nodded with a sadistic grin, before rushing off to help his allies. Corrin turned back to the battlefield ahead, spotting a blue-haired woman trying to fend off some Hoshidan soldiers. Something about her looked oddly familiar.

"Is that…Azura?"

Niles dashed to the scene quite quickly, and launched a shower of arrows at the Hoshidans, knocking many of them to the ground, writhing in pain.

"Hold, friend of Justice!" Arthur called to the outlaw, glaring slightly. "Lord Corrin specifically instructed that no Hoshidan lives should be taken!"

Niles rolled his one good eye. "Well, do they look dead to you, meat-for-brains?"

"Well, um…"

"Those were non-lethal shots. We're not supposed to kill them, but that doesn't mean we can't injure them. And I'm a bit of a fan of making people suffer, in case you haven't noticed."

"And in case either of you haven't noticed, we should be going to help Lord Corrin and the others!" Effie barked, grabbing the attention of the two men. She then turned to Elise, looking for reinforcement.

"Er, uh, yeah! Gotta go help Odin!" She added. "Er, I, I mean…Corrin and the others! Gotta go help…you know what I mean!"

The others got in a good chuckle as they rushed to help the rest of the army.

It was not long after before the group managed to claim Fort Dragonfall and garner safe passage through the area. It was revealed that the others had found a young woman named Azura, a Hoshidan princess who was a friend of Corrin's from his time there. She was somewhat shy but seemed very kind, and became even more intriguing to Elise once it was revealed that she was her sister, to some extent. After taking some time to talk with the Songstress, she went off to find Odin once again, before noticing the blonde-haired dark mage off talking with Nyx. He seemed to be enjoying himself as well, waving his hands around while describing one of his odd stories. It was enough to manage a small grin from the female dark mage, and getting nothing but a glare from Elise.

She wouldn't admit it, but she was feeling quite, quite jealous at the moment. Why did Odin seem to want to be around everyone else but her? The Princess let out a defeated sigh, and slowly walked off.

Odin turned around, spotting the Princess slowly trudging away. He had seen her, watching him, from the corner of his eye.

"Wonder what that's about…" He muttered to himself, before turning back to Nyx. "It was nice talking to you, but I'm afraid I have to go. Have yourself a good day!"

Nyx smiled slightly at the man, and with a quick wave Odin rushed off to catch up with Elise. Upon coming up behind the Princess, he decided to tap her on the shoulder, with the young lady nearly jumping out of her skin in surprise, clearly lost in thought.

"O-Odin! You scared me!"

The Dark Mage laughed. "So I noticed, but I swear, it was not my intention. I did come by, however, to check on you. You looked…down. It made me worried."

Elise managed to smile slightly, her spirits lifted at the man's comment. The thought of him being worried about her sent butterflies into the Princess' stomach.

"Oh, I'm fine, Odin!" She reassured him with a slight giggle. "There was something bugging me, but having you around always helps cheer me up!"

"Such are my duties as your…brother's…retainer? Actually, I don't think that's in the job description…"

Elise giggled cheerfully, and gave the man a surprise hug. "Whether it's your duties or not, I love having you around!" She confessed, blushing madly. It was getting awfully hard to hide her feelings for the man. "Come talk to me more often, okay?"

Odin blushed redder than a tomato, before finally returning Elise's tight embrace, picking up the short young Princess and holding her just inches from his face.

"I shall do just that, Milady! Although, I should probably put you down before anyone sees us like this…"

The two laughed softly at each other as Odin carefully set down his friend. Unbeknownst to them, Corrin was looking on from nearby, his arms folded.

What was Odin playing at? Were they already dating? Had he missed something? There were quite a few questions swirling in the Prince's mind, but they would be answered in due time. He wandered off to follow Odin. It was about time he had a…discussion, with the man.

* * *

 **Hey folks! I just wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone who has been supporting this story thus far. Updates will be less frequent over the next little while, since my College exams are just around the corner, but once those are finished I should be able to churn out new chapters much faster. Thanks for reading, and i hope you enjoy the rest of this story!**

 **-Nate**


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Corrin was able to finally catch Odin alone when they were back in the astral plane. The dark mage had spent most of the day around Elise, which only deepened Corrin's suspicions. Eventually, the Nohrian Princess finally headed off to find Effie and Arthur, and Odin made his way towards the training grounds. Corrin approached him casually, waving the man down and doing his best to pretend that he hadn't been following him around for the entire day.

"Hail, Nohrian Prince!" Odin cheerfully called, shooting another blast of dark magic at a training dummy. "Are you here to hone your skills as well?"

The man nodded, pulling his Yato blade from its sheath. He figured he could get a bit of training in while asking the dark mage a few questions.

"So, uh…how are you?" He grunted, taking a couple hard swings at a wooden dummy. "Anything…new with you these days?"

"Ah, yes!" Odin replied. "I have been quite busy with new legendary techniques! I record them all here, in my manual of justice!"

The man pulled a worn, black book from his robes, showing it off to Corrin. There was a faint inscription written on the front cover, that Corrin could barely make out.

MANUAL OF JUSTICE

PROPERTY OF OWAIN ODIN DARK

Corrin was intrigued by the text. Was it…some sort of diary, or journal? Maybe it would have some information about the man's relationship with Elise. The Prince quickly decided that he would have to get his hands on the book, one way or another.

"Hm! That looks…very interesting! It's the…manual of justice, you said? Per…perhaps I could read it sometime, in order to learn of your sacred techniques!"

Odin's brow furrowed. "Maybe…we'll have to see. The manual of justice contains some very…personal information, pertaining to myself. No offense, but it will likely be a long time before you are worthy of it's contents, Lord Corrin."

That statement settled Corrin's mind. Any book containing personal information about Odin was exactly what he needed in order to figure out the man. No matter what it took, he had to figure out some sort of way to learn what was inside of the text.

"Well then, what do I have to do to read what's inside?" The Prince asked curiously. Odin's eyes lit up very pleased at Corrin's sudden interest in his concocted techniques and legends.

"Your eagerness pleases me!" The Dark Mage declared. "Very well, I will allow you to partake in the trials of justice, in order to be worthy of reading the sacred manual of the Justice Cabal!"

Corrin laughed sheepishly, scratching his head. Justice…Cabal? Now it was beginning to sound like Odin was leading him on, and making up words. Maybe the Mage already knew what he was trying to pull, and was one step ahead.

He quickly dismissed this from his mind, however. Odin seemed…smart, to an extent. But this excitement, as far as he could tell, was genuine. Corrin had never seen the blonde dark mage this eager about something.

Odin was thinking intently to himself, trying to figure out what sort of tests he could put Corrin through to prove his worthiness. He tried to think of what Cynthia or Morgan would suggest in this situation. It had to be a test of skill, he presumed…not life threatening, yet still challenging…it would probably be a good idea to split it up into parts as well. If he could ring in someone else to help out, to boot…Odin smiled to himself, marveling at his own genius as the plan came together in his head.

"I have just the idea in mind, Lord Corrin!" He declared. "But, it will take some time for myself to make the preparations. In two days time, you will be put through the ultimate test of wit, skill, and strength!"

Corrin grinned slightly. "I look forward to it, Odin," He replied. "This will certainly make for an intriguing challenge, if nothing else."

With that, the two parted ways. Corrin was headed to get some rest, but Odin had plenty of planning left to be done.

-THE NEXT DAY-

Odin scoured the camp in search of Elise. He doubted that anyone else would be willing to help him, at least not for the first leg of his test. He had already talked to 'Justice fanatic' Arthur, and convinced the man to aid him in another section of the test, and Niles, who begrudgingly agreed after Odin threatened to tell Lord Leo of the man's philandering in local nightclubs while pretending to be 'sick' for a week.

It wasn't long before the Dark Mage found Elise, chatting with Effie while the heavily armoured knight gobbled down plate after plate of food. The little Princess appeared to be getting annoyed as Effie was paying more attention to getting food in her belly than she was to what Elise was trying to tell her, so she was quite relieved to see Odin calling her over to talk.

"What's up, Odie?" She asked, trying to sound as cute as possible.

The man smiled warmly towards her as she approached. "I have…a request to make of you, milady," He declared. "It involves Lord Corrin, actually."

Elise was slightly confused, but gave her friend a cheerful smile. "Sure, anything for you! What's up?"

Odin blushed slightly at Elise's 'anything for you' comment, before regaining his composure and continuing.

"I have a series of challenges Lord Corrin is required to complete, and one of them I will need your help with," The man explained. "If you have no interest, I'll understand, but-"

"I'll do it!" Elise quickly answered.

"…Are you sure? I haven't even told you what it is yet…"

Elise shrugged. "If both you and Corrin need me to do something, I'm more than willing to help you guys out, no matter what it is!"

Odin's grin widened. The more he talked to Elise, the more he seemed to like her.

"All right then, I'll come back and find you later today! I have to deal with a few other things, first, and then we'll talk some more! Sound like a plan?"

Elise nodded, and with that Odin took his leave, dashing off with other objectives in mind. The Princess scratched her head worriedly, trying to analyze her own 'performance' after another successful conversation with Odin.

"Oh, jeez, I hope I wasn't too overly flirty again…"

* * *

 **Sorry for the wait! My exams are finally done, and chapters should begin coming back at a steady pace soon enough.**

 **-Nate**


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was not long before the day of the beginning of Odin's trials came around. The dark mage had planned out every detail at this point, and was just waiting for Corrin to arrive. The first trial would take place in the mess hall, with Elise as Odin's aide. The man was quite excited to see what would happen, but did his best to remain cool, calm and collected.

That, however, was never going to go well. Odin was nearly bouncing off the walls with excitement, and Elise was doing her best to try and get the man to calm down.

"Is he here yet? I'd better check outside again…" The man eagerly declared.

"Odie, you just checked a few minutes ago…" Elise giggled. "Give Corrin a bit of time, I'm sure he's just doing some last-minute preparations."

Almost as though on cue, the Prince strolled in just a few moments later, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Sorry about the delay," He told them, "Just getting in a bit of sparring practice before coming here."

"Ah! You were correct, milady!" Odin surmised with an excited grin, before turning towards Corrin. "That being said, there is no training that can prepare you for the trials of justice!"

Corrin raised an eyebrow, but thought better of replying. He had actually been getting in a bit of training to keep himself prepared for visiting the rainbow sage, but there was no point in trying to correct the dark mage. If it would help him get closer to figuring out what was written in Odin's book, he'd take any little advantages he could get.

"Anyways, shall we get started?" The Prince asked eagerly. "I've got my Yato with me, but I brought a practice sword as well, depending on the kind of fight we'll be having-"

"A fight? Ho ho!" Odin chuckled, clicking his tongue at the young man. "There shall be no fights of a violent manner in this stage of the trials! No, this is a much different test of skill!"

Elise giggled, nodding in agreement. Corrin was getting more and more confused, until he put the pieces together. He had been brought to the mess hall, and Elise was wearing a white chef's hat on her head.

"You want me to…cook something?" He sputtered in reply. "What does that even have to do with Justice, or your book, or anything?!"

Odin scoffed. "True warriors of Justice are masters of many talents!" He quickly spat back with a slight glare. "Their wide ranges of skills are what make them legends! Why, I once knew a man who could peel the skin off potatoes with a simple flick of his blade!"

Corrin raised an eyebrow. "This whole escapade seems…highly obscure, but I suppose I have no choice in this matter. I will accept your challenge, Odin Dark!"

The dark mage responded with a smug grin. "It is not I you will be challenging!" He revealed, turning to Elise. "Your work against our beloved Princess Elise will determine your success in this trial!"

The Princess giggled, giving her brother a meek wave. The Prince suddenly began to feel set up to fail. He knew that Elise was, at the very least, a decent cook, having made a few meals for him when she came to visit him in the northern fortress. Plus, he had never had to cook for himself once in his entire life. Felicia and Flora had done the work in that area over the course of his young life, so he had no clue of what to do.

"Er…can I forfeit?" The Prince asked, scratching his head with an awkward laugh.

Odin was taken aback by this, giving the man a dramatic gasp. "Is…is lady Elise truly that much of a formidable opponent?" He questioned, looking over at the Princess, who was just as surprised as Odin.

"Let's just say I'm not…too great…when it comes to something like this," Corrin confessed. "Why don't we just move on to the next trial? I'm sure I can do better!"

"What? We can't just simply skip an entire trial of justice!" Odin quickly shot back, crossing his arms. The man had no such plans to allow Corrin to get off the hook. "However, I will allow you to cook without any competition. Elise and I will sample your food together, afterwards. Now then, begin!"

The Prince grumbled quietly as he slinked off into the kitchens with a scowl. After he was gone, Odin turned to Elise.

"If you're really that good at cooking, you'll have to make something for me sometime…" He told her with a bit of a smirk. The Princess giggled in reply, blushing slightly.

"Maaaybe…" She teased, winking at the man. "I'm actually not that good, but I do know how to cook. Everyone back home always stressed that I had to learn certain skills so that I would be considered a 'proper lady and royal'.

Odin smiled, thinking to himself. Elise's tale sounded very similar to what his Mother used to tell him about her life in the Ylisse Castle walls back home.

"Oh! And, there was something else I wanted to ask you about…" Elise added.

"What is it?"

"Why are you always holding out your hand when you're training? That, and you're always talking, but not one is around!"

Odin thought to himself for a moment, before raising an eyebrow in concern. "…How do you know that I do all that?" He warily replied. "I've never trained with you before…and I don't remember training with you around…"

The blonde Princess turned redder than a tomato as she realized what she had just brought up. Over the past couple days; Elise had taken to watching Odin while he trained, usually from the window of her room, which was close by to the training grounds. It was not something she had planned to tell anyone about, and least of all the very person she couldn't stop watching.

"I…er…" She stammered, scrambling to come up with some sort of excuse. Meanwhile, Odin was scratching his head, trying to figure out what Elise could possibly be talking about. Perhaps they had trained together and he had simply never noticed? That would be extremely embarrassing, not to mention that it would more than likely hurt Elise's feelings quite a bit.

"Oh!" The dark mage spoke up, pretending to have just remembered something. "I remember now! That…that one night! When we were out training together! Yes, that's the one!"

Now, it was Elise's turn to be confused. What was Odin referring to? She knew, for a fact, that she had never once gotten the chance to train with the man (Something like that would most definitely be an event to remember). That being said, she certainly wasn't going to tell Odin that she liked to watch him while he trained.

"Er…uh…yeah!" The Princess fibbed, giving her crush a sheepish grin. "Yeah, that time! It was super fun!"

Odin exhaled slightly, letting out a nervous laugh. The man silently thanked Naga that Elise was buying his made up story. However, that only made him feel worse, as if they had trained together, he could not seem to remember anything from it.

"How about we train together again sometime? I'm pretty sure I still owe you some lessons on how to use magic, anyways…"

"P-perfect!" Elise quickly replied, smiling cheerfully. "You know it! For sure! It's a date!"

Thankfully for Elise, she didn't have to explain her last sentence as Corrin finally came bursting back through the kitchen doors, carrying a plate with…something on it. Whatever it was, or used to be, it was far too burnt for Elise and Odin to be able to tell.

"Like I said, I can't cook…" Corrin groaned, setting down the dish in front of the two. "Having Felicia as one of your only role models when it comes to this isn't a great starting point either…"

The three shared a laugh before Odin came to terms with the man, agreeing to waive this part of the 'trials of justice', due to Corrin's lack of cooking experience.

"However! That only means that things will get harder from here!" The Dark Mage decreed. "You'll have to work as hard as possible to succeed in the final two tests! That, and now it's gonna take me even more time to finish setting them up…"

"Whatever you say, Odin," Corrin replied with a slight grin. "Anyways, it's probably time to get moving again. We've got to reach the port, so we can get to Notre Sagesse. Ready to head out?"


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It wasn't long before the group found themselves at the port of Notre Sagesse, having arrived safely in the distant land. The smell of the ocean was almost quite relaxing, were it not for the feeling of uneasiness Corrin simply couldn't shake. Something felt…off, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Something wrong, Corrin?" A voice inquired from next to the man. The young Prince turned to see Silas standing nearby, a concerned look on his face. "If you're feeling uneasy, I can see why…these villagers seem suspicious of our presence. Perhaps it's just the fact that we're Nohrian, but-"

"HALT, NOHRIAN SCUM!"

Corrin, Silas and the others turned to see a squad of Hoshidan samurai marching towards them. As they drew their weapons, the enemy split apart down the middle, allowing a single, white-haired archer to step forward from the crowd.

"Takumi!" Corrin called, instantly recognizing his brother. "What are you…"

"YOU BETRAYED YOUR FAMILY…AND HOSHIDO!" The man cried, as he raised his bow. "NOW PAY…FOR YOUR BETRAYAL!"

"Hoshidans! Everyone, scatter!" Silas barked, before Takumi sent a white arrow flying in his direction, which the knight barely managed to dodge. After that, pandemonium ensued.

Corrin and the others were able to drive Takumi and his group back slightly, buying enough time for them to set up a few makeshift barriers around the town. They had the advantage, forcing the Hoshidans to try and break through their formation. However, these foes were not ones to go away without a fight.

"Hey, watch yourself!" Silas yelled, pulling Odin out of the way of a stray arrow. The dark mage sent a blast of magic as return fire towards the enemy archer, causing the man to lose his footing and tumble into the water of the port.

"Many thanks, young warrior," Odin panted, giving Silas a slight nod. However, the grey-haired knight was already galloping off, heading to help secure another one of their barricades.

"Well, I suppose I can hold them off here for a while…" Odin muttered to himself, readying his purple tome once more. The battle had begun so abruptly that there was no sort of strategy involved. All that was known was that they had to keep the Hoshidans away from the town, and drive them back to their ships within the port.

Corrin jumped out of the way to avoid a tossed shuriken, managing to roll next to Odin behind one of the barricades.

"I've got a few ninjas on my tail," The Prince panted, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Care to help me out?"

Before the dark mage could reply, the ninjas in question flew in, jumping off a nearby rooftop and landing in front of the slouching pair of Nohrians.

"Damn!" Corrin cursed, quickly grabbing his dragon stone while scrambling to his feet. As the ninjas launched a barrage of shuriken towards Corrin and Odin, the Nohrian Prince managed to transform into his dragon form, using his thick scales to deflect the ninja stars aside.

"Now, Odin!" The Prince roared, his voice turning into a low growl. The Dark mage quickly clambered his way onto Corrin's back, while sending a wave of dark magic to take out the Hoshidan ninjas.

"Haha! It will take much more than that to take out the legendary Odin dark, and his trusty dragon steed!"

Corrin gave out an irritated grunt, bucking slightly. "I'm not going to let you ride me," The Prince huffed. "Get off."

"Oh, come on, we'll cover much more ground together this way!" Odin whined. "And besides that, we'll look just like the heroes of old!"

Corrin thought to himself for a moment, before slightly nodding his transformed head. "All right…I'll let you stay on my back…on one condition," He declared. "This counts as one of your 'trials of justice'. Deal?"

"W-what?" Odin stammered, before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Looks like Arthur won't be helping me out after all…" He grumbled, before petting Corrin's head, simply making the Prince even more annoyed at the situation.

"You have yourself a deal, dragon prince…" Odin conceded, slightly disappointed yet also excited to ride around on Corrin's back. What a story this would make for when he got back to Ylisse!

Elise and the others looked on to see Corrin galloping about the battlefield in his dragon form, but were shocked once they noticed Odin on his back, blasting the Hoshidans with his tome. As strange of an arrangement as it was, the others observed that it was working out with an absurd level of efficiency. Corrin easily tackled aside enemies who got too close, with the Hoshidans breaking their blades upon his thick scales, while Odin dealt with ranged enemies via his dark magic.

"Another on your left, Sir Corrin!"

"Yep, I see him!" Corrin growled, lowering his head and using his silver horns to fling the Hoshidan samurai far away. "Hey, look out, Odin!"

The Dark mage turned his head and saw a white arrow headed his way, shot from Takumi's Fujin Yumi. He began to try and conjure a spell to shield himself, but the shooting white energy was deflected out of the way by a steel sword, wielded by a red-haired woman that Odin instantly recognized.

"Keep your head up, you bumbling dork!" She yelled at the dark mage, with a bit of a glare. That gaze quickly softened as it turned into a sly smile with a bit of a playful wink. "Oh, and…nice to see you again…Odin."

"L-lady Sev-er, I mean, Lady Selena!" The man stuttered in reply. "When did you arrive?"

"Hold up," Corrin interjected, quickly transforming back to his human form and sending Odin tumbling to the ground. "Aren't you one of Camilla's retainers? Does that mean she's here?"

Selena nodded, before entering a battle stance once again. "We've still got work to do right now, so worry about that later!" She snapped, before rushing back into the thick of the battle.

"R – right!" Corrin quickly replied, dashing off after the woman. This left Odin standing alone, with a look of irritation towards Corrin.

"H-hey!" He called, as he rushed after the Prince. "We didn't finish! Transform into a dragon again! Get back here, Sir Corrin!"

* * *

 **Sorry for the late update, full-time job + midnights over the weekend = not a good time. I'm trying to find a groove and get more done for the story, but I've been having a hard time. However, I'll try to continue to get at least 1 chapter per week going for now.**

 **As always, thanks for reading and leave a review of what you thought!**

 **-Nate**


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The battle took a lopsided turn upon the arrival of Selena, Camilla, and Beruka, Camilla's other retainer. Camilla in particular was extremely strong, and with the added assistance of her and her retainers, it wasn't long before Takumi and his forces had been successfully driven back. However, there was hardly any time to celebrate, as the Nohrians needed to head up into the mountains, having learned that the Rainbow Sage resided there. If the Hoshidans were already in Notre Sagesse, it was likely that they had were on their way to the sage as well, or even worse, they were already there.

As they continued their long and arduous trek up the mountain, Elise let out yet another irritated sigh. Odin seemed very engaged in talking to Selena, sharing a lively conversation with the woman. Before that, he had been talking to Nyx while the group took the ferry across the waters to get to Notre Sagesse, so it had been a while since the man and Elise had been able to talk. While normally this would just make the blonde Princess sad, Elise was both jealous and annoyed instead, given how much Odin was chatting with these two other girls. For her, the last thing she wanted was more competition for Odin's affection.

Corrin, on the other hand, was quite pleased to see Odin chatting with women other than his youngest foster sibling. This, for the time being, proved to him that Elise and Odin weren't dating, at least not yet, which came as a bit of a relief. He still had to find out more, hopefully from Odin's manual of justice, but at least he now knew he still had time to do so.

"Are your legs feeling weak, my little Corrin?" A soothing voice asked from behind the man. The Nohrian Prince turned around to see Camilla coming up behind him. The busty wyvern rider gave the man a coy smile as she approached. "Oh, you poor thing…here, hop into my arms and I'll carry you up the rest of the way!"

The others got a good laugh out of this, which caused Corrin's face to become flush with embarrassment. "Camilla," He groaned, "I'm a grown man. I can handle walking up a hill. If anything, it would probably be me carrying you!"

"Ooh, you would?" Camilla cooed, her eyes lighting up. "Aw, my little Corrin, you're growing up so fast!"

This time, Corrin chose to ignore Camilla's comments, instead trudging on ahead. Odin and Selena chuckled at the sight, having slipped to the back of the group.

"Anyways, what's been up with you?" Selena asked, turning back to Odin. "How have things been, hanging with all these weirdos?"

The dark mage laughed quietly in reply, cracking a smile. "Quite good, actually!" The man confessed. "I have been quite busy with Lord Corrin, Sir Niles and…" Odin trailed off slightly while gazing towards Elise, "…others, over the past while. These Nohrians, they are good people."

Selena noticed Odin's slight pause, and watched his eyes pass over the young Nohrian princess. "Rrriiigght…" She drawled, a slight smirk forming on her face. "Some more than others in your eyes, it would seem…"

"What do you mean?"

The red-haired mercenary rolled her eyes, motioning towards Elise. "I'm a girl. I also have these two things called eyes. They notice things for me."

"By the Gods, how does everyone notice?" Odin cursed, kicking at the ground as Selena let out an amused laugh. "It took you what, a whole two seconds?"

"Yeah, something like that," Selena teased with a wink, before her smile quickly turned to a concerned frown. "You know a relationship like that would never work out, don't you?" She told the man.

"You've hardly even met her," Odin snapped back, motioning towards Elise. "She knows of the darkness within me, and, to quote her own words, she finds it to be 'cool'. So, by my own assessment, I think we are perfect for each other."

"It's not a matter of whether she's as weird as you or not," Selena retorted. "It's a matter of remembering why we came here in the first place. You do remember why we were brought here…don't you?"

"Of course! The labyrinth of darkness within my head is an inescapable death trap!"

"Right, right…then you'll remember that we're heading back to Ylisse when we're done here? And that you won't be able to take Elise with you?"

There was an awkward silence between the two as Odin scratched his head. With everything that had happened, he hadn't even pondered to think about that, and what would happen between the two once he went back home.

"I'll be able to take her with me, I doubt Anankos has anything against some extra passengers for the ride home…" Odin replied, although there was already a hint of defeat in his voice.

"Even if he did, would you really be willing to rip her from her home, and everyone she knows here, and take her to a foreign land? If you're that selfish, then you're not worthy of her hand in the first place," Selena scolded. "Look, it's best not to get too involved or attached to the people here. Remember what we're here for, what we're fighting for, and where your real home is. Okay?"

Odin sighed, nodding his head in compliance. Selena was right. There was, simply put, no way he could think of for this relationship to work.

However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to stop trying. And, in the dark mage's opinion, it was time to bring in some more outside help. Niles sounded like a good enough place to start, but there was another, much more intensive idea he had in mind.

The dark mage said goodbye to Selena, heading to catch up to the others, and look for Nyx. He was going to need some help from another dark mage to pull this off, although he couldn't tell her of what exactly he had in mind. There was some very, very far away 'outside help' that he needed to get.

After all, if there were anyone who would give him honest advice, it would be his family.

* * *

 **Special thanks to Niom Lamboise for plenty of new ideas for this story. If anyone has ideas or suggestions for what they would like to see, feel free to send me a PM. I can't guarantee anything making it in, especially with my own plans for this taking priority, but if it can work and I like the idea, I'll do my best.**

 **Anyways, thanks as always for your support!**

 **-Nate**


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Once the group reached the Sevenfold Sanctuary, they found the Hoshidans had beaten them there. Hinoka, her retainers and a squad of Hoshido's finest were guarding the inner chambers of the sanctuary, preventing the group from reaching the Rainbow Sage without fighting their way through them first.

While Odin's main focus was the battle at hand, he was also trying to find Nyx within the clusters of battle. He would need her help pretty soon, so now was as good a time as any.

"All right, we're going to need to split up from here!" Corrin called to the group, noticing two adjacent staircases, one in each corner of the small room they stood in. "Everyone pair off accordingly, but make sure enough people are headed in each direction, all right? We don't want to be outnumbered!"

As the others scrambled down the staircases, headed into the upcoming rooms, Odin continued to scan for Nyx, before spotting the young-looking woman disappear down the left set of stairs. As he headed to follow her, however, he was stopped by a tug on the sleeve of his robes.

"C'mon, this way, Odin!"

The man turned to see Elise looking up at him, continuing to tug at his tight mage clothing.

"Effie and I are headed down the other side, hurry up and come with us! We could…uh…use your help and stuff! Yeah!"

Odin looked back to where he had seen Nyx go, and decided that following her was more important at the moment. After all, Elise would be fine as long as Effie was around. He was pretty sure he had spotted Corrin and Camilla heading that way as well, meaning this would likely be one of the few times he would have to catch Nyx without judging eyes on him…

"Sorry, my Princess, but the darkness beckons!" Odin replied, trying to feign some sort of dramatic, sorrowful look. "I'm afraid we must part ways! I shall find you again once peace has returned to these halls!"

Before the blonde Princess could respond, Odin was gone, disappearing off down the nearby stairs in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, phooey!" Elise grumbled. She had seen Odin watching Nyx, and was positive she was the reason he had rushed off down the halls.

"Come on, Lady Elise!" Effie called from the other staircase. "The others need us!"

Elise sighed before rushing over to follow her friend. She would figure out what was going on with Odin later, for now she was needed elsewhere. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on…

Odin and his group blew their way through Setsuna, one of Hinoka's retainers, and her Hoshidan allies. They had stopped for a quick rest in one of the rooms before continuing when Odin finally caught up with the dark mage he had been searching for.

"Hail, Nyx of the abyssal black darkness!" He called, rushing over to the woman. "I seek an audience with you!"

Nyx rolled her eyes, shooting Odin back a dark look. "We're in the middle of a fight, Odin. I don't have time for your childish games. Scram, unless you have something important to talk about…"

"Ha ha!" Odin replied in his booming voice. "That is where you are wrong, Milady! For you see, I am not one to play games – and also, what I wish to speak with you on is of grave importance!"

The woman rolled her eyes, not bothering to make eye contact with the man and instead opting to look through her tome instead. "Make it quick, then. What do you need?"

Odin paused for a moment, before scratching his head and laughing sheepishly. "Actually, I didn't think I'd get this far – but we can't do anything about what I need from you until after the battle…I need your help with some magic."

Nyx cracked a rare smile, chuckling quietly. "You are an odd one, Odin…but I suppose I can help you. Whatever you need, come find me afterwards, and I'll see what I can do."

The blonde dark mage breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods!" He praised. "Without your help, I was surely doomed! I shall find you after the battle, and we will finalize this partnership of brilliant minds!"

"Partnership of what now?" Nyx asked, blushing slightly, but Odin was already gone, rushing to the nearby staircase and into the next room of the sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Elise and her group were hard at work forging a path through the enemy lines on their side of the sanctuary. Corrin had been making quick work of the Hoshidans, but had rushed too quickly into one of the rooms and was hit with one of Azama's (Another one of Hinoka's retainers) curses, causing him to enter a severely drained and weakened state. While Elise helped heal the man with her staff, Camilla, Selena and Effie blazed onward, taking out Azama and heading further into the mountaintop sanctuary.

"So, did you ever end up finding out more about Odin?" Elise asked curiously, while using her staff to try and lift Azama's curse. Corrin shook his head, grimacing slightly as he could feel the dark magic being slowly ripped from his body.

"That's what I've been doing his 'trials of justice' for. I suppose I'll have to finish them first, but it will give me…opportunities, I suppose, to do some things I couldn't before."

Before Elise had a chance to respond, Camilla had re-entered the room, giving the two a warm smile as she saw them once more.

"Oh, my darlings…we've caught back up to the others. The rooms appear to have met up again, and the last room is where that…'other', fake sister of yours is, Corrin."

The white-haired Prince nodded, getting to his feet. "Good to hear," He replied to his sister. "I'll go see if I can talk to Hinoka. I'd prefer to end this without a fight, if possible…"

"Whatever you want, dearie!" Camilla swooned. "However, I'd much rather take her head off with my axe, but if my darling little Corrin doesn't want any killing, I guess I'll have to obey…"

"Er…right." The young man replied, heading towards the stairs. "I'll go and make sure you don't have a chance do that now. Elise, make sure she doesn't kill anyone, all right? You two watch Azama and the rest, while I go fight Hinoka. I'll send someone to find you when we're done."

The youngest Nohrian Princess nodded with a slight grin before Corrin dashed off down the stairs, preparing his Yato blade in case he needed it. Once he was gone, Camilla turned to Elise.

"So, what's this I've been hearing about a boy you like? That lovely little Odin?" She teased.

"Um, well…" Elise stammered, blushing heavily, "It's a bit complicated right now, I guess."

"Oh please, nothing is too complicated for your older Sister!" Camilla chided, patting Elise on the head. "Just tell me who I need to kill to make you happy, sweetie!"

The blonde princess shook her head in dismay. "Oh, nothing like that, sis…" She replied, "I'm just…not sure if likes me back, that's all. We used to talk a fair bit, but now, he's almost been avoiding me lately, off talking to Nyx and Selena and such. Maybe he just likes…taller girls? Or something like that, I don't know."

Camilla rubbed her chin. "You know, Selena does talk about Odin quite a bit…I believe the two are very close, dating back to before their days as our retainers."

"Really? Aw, phooey, what if they've been dating this whole time!" Elise groaned. "I'd feel so dumb if Odie is already taken by someone else!"

"Aww, I'm sure that's not the case, my darling," Camilla consoled, patting little Elise on the back and pulling her into a tight hug. "But, I'll ask Selena just to make you happy. But they may seem close, but they don't seem that close to me."

Elise sighed, and nodded back to her older sister. "Thanks, big sis," She replied with a slight grin.

Just then, Odin rushed into the room, panting slightly after having to run up and down the sanctuary stairs. "L-lord Corrin…has defeated…lady Hinoka," He panted. "If you will join me…shall we head to him…and find…the rainbow sage?"

Camilla nudged Elise slightly on the back, who timidly marched forward. "Y-yep, uh, sure! Let's head up there, Odin!" She replied, before turning around to her older sister. "Aren't you coming, Camilla?"

"Oh, I'll just stay here and watch our Hoshidan friends. Make sure they don't try anything funny before we let them go. At least, I'm assuming Corrin will want to do that…if I'm lucky, perhaps he will let me kill that red-haired fake sister!"

Odin shrugged, brushing off Camilla's strange talk, and also remaining oblivious to what the woman was trying to do. He turned to the smiling, and now blushing, Elise standing next to him.

"Well then, I guess it's another long trek back up the stairs…but at least I'll have company this time!" The man laughed, nudging Elise playfully, which made the young girl blush even more before winking back at her crush.

"I guess this'll give us some time to catch up with each other – it seems like it's been a while since we got a chance to talk!" She told the man, who nodded in reply as they started up the stairs.

Camilla looked on from behind, and let out an adoring 'Aww' once the two were gone.

"What a cute couple they'd make," The purple-haired woman remarked with a slight smile.

* * *

 **There were some technical difficulties with getting this chapter up, hence the late arrival, but I figured things out. Thanks for your patience and enjoy!**

 **-Nate**


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Odin and Elise trudged together up the seemingly endless stairs, hearing faint yells from the chambers up ahead.

"Strange, Corrin had already finished defeating Lady Hinoka…I wonder what could be going on?"

Elise shrugged nonchalantly, much more concerned pressing some questions at Odin. "Maybe they've met up with the Rainbow sage, finally? Or perhaps there's someone else up there…either way, I'm sure they've got it under control. Anyways, um…"

"Yes?"

Elise paused, blushing heavily. She was planning on asking Odin a few questions to try and determine his relationship with Selena, but it was much harder to do than she thought. She would have to think out her questions, even though she was likely to stutter and bumble her way through actually asking them.

"Was there a fatal piece of information you wished to tell me, Milady?" Odin pressed. "Is it some sort of encrypted clue you can only tell me through silence? I've never been good with sign language, but I can try to interpret your messages! Tug on one of your pigtails if you can still hear me, because if you have gone deaf, I will need to use my dark magic right away to cure it-"

"Oh no, not that!" Elise quickly replied with an awkward giggle. "I just wanted to say…uh…you and Selena looked really close today! How do you know each other?"

"That's…um…a long story, let's put it that way," Odin retorted, twinges of nervousness beginning to show in his voice. "We um…met a long time ago. Selena, Lawzard, and myself – Lawzard of course being one of Xander's retainers, but I suppose you already knew that. Childhood friends, I guess? That's the best way I can think of to describe it."

"Just friends?" Elise quickly prodded.

"…Yes. Just friends. Though I'm not sure if Selena and Lawzard will remain 'just friends' with each other for much longer…but anyways, why the sudden interest, if I may ask?" Odin curiously replied, raising an eyebrow at the short princess.

"Uh…just because you and Selena s-seemed so close and all! Wouldn't uh…want other people to be trying to date you if you're already dating someone!"

Odin scratched his head, a look of flustered confusion on his face. "Er…right." He slowly muttered back. The dark mage was beginning to grow more and more suspicious of Elise. Something told him his feelings of affection were not unrequited.

"A-anyways…next question!" The Princess managed to sputter, her heart beating out of her chest at this point. "Are…are you um…"

"Am I single? My lip-reading techniques may need work, but my peerless intuition tells me that was your question," The dark mage smoothly replied. "And the answer to your question…well, it depends on who's asking."

Now slightly concerned but more importantly, confused, Elise raised an eyebrow and continued to press for answers.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Odin paused for a moment, before replying with a slight chuckle, "Nothing, actually. I just thought it might sound cool to say. Although, I don't think it did…"

"Well, I'd prefer a straight answer, actually, as cool as the last one sounded," Elise teased, giving Odin a playful wink, while thoroughly impressed with her own response.

"The straight answer? I'm single. Very single. I'm, er…in a bit of an odd position right now, though. There's someone I like, but I can't exactly ask her to date me, or marry me, or anything like that. It's a…quite complex situation, to say the least."

This answer had Elise very, very intrigued – but also very, very nervous. She was hoping to be the person he was talking about, but was equally worried about what he meant by not being able to actually confess his feelings to whomever it was he was talking about.

At the same time, she could not be the person he was talking about, which would make her feel horrible, and also feel bad for whoever the mystery girl actually was – as odd as that would be.

Meanwhile, Odin was going through a very similar dilemma in his own head. It was just like the battles between light and dark, good and evil that he would always play out in his mind, except this one had real world consequences. While he would love to confess his feelings to Elise, the sad reality was that it simply seemed unrealistic. But the more time he spent around the girl, the harder it was becoming to hide these emotions – and even harder to imagine spending time without her by his side. Perhaps she was the light that could brighten his soul filled with darkness.

"Such torment…" The man muttered to himself, earning a concerned look from Elise.

"Sorry?"

"Oh! Nothing, milady…just muttering an incantation to ward off evil spirits from the nethers of my soul!"

The Princess giggled. "You know, you still have to teach me how to talk like that," She told the man, "And I'm not gonna stop asking until you do."

Odin smirked slightly at the girl. "Perhaps, one day, I shall. One day, I'm sure, I will be able to reveal to you all of my dark secrets, but alas! Today is not that day. Someday, all will be made clear to you, my precious Princess."

Elise blushed heavily once more at Odin's final compliment, playfully bumping him with her hips. "One day, Odin Dark, I'll get you to spill all of your clouded and shadowed secrets!" She teased.

"Hey, not bad, not bad!" Odin praised, giving Elise an impressed look. "It won't take you long at all to figure out how to speak in my accursed dark tongue!"

"Ha ha!" I knew I would be a natural!" The princess excitedly exclaimed, smiling broadly.

"How about we meet up bright and early tomorrow morning, on the training grounds. That way we can train together, and then afterwards, I will teach you the ancient language of Odin Dark! Sound like a deal?"

"Anytime, any place!" The Princess quickly giggled in reply, giving the man a quick surprise hug, which caught Odin off guard at first but he quickly managed to return.

"All right! We've got plans for tomorrow, then!"

Elise and Odin continued their talk as they trudged up the rest of the stairs, but all Elise could think about for the rest of the trip was her meet up with Odin they had finally planned. She wasn't sure of what to expect, but there was one thing she knew already: she would hardly be able to sleep tonight.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon as Odin left his room within Corrin's castle on the astral plane. The dark mage did a quick check of his things – double checking to ensure he had brought all the tomes he needed for the morning practice session, and also triple checking his clothes and hair, trying to make sure he looked as good as possible. He had a very important event to get to, planning on meeting Elise down at the training grounds for him to teach her about magic.

Seeing how early it was in the morning, Odin was not surprised to see the training grounds vacant and empty upon his arrival. The training dummies were neatly aligned in a row at the end of the dirt field, and multiple crates filled with all sorts of practice weapons were piled on the sidelines.

Odin double-checked his surroundings once more, trying to ensure that no one else was nearby. If he was correct, he should have at least almost an hour before Elise showed up – as long as she planned on coming when they agreed to meet. He figured it might be nice if he could impress her with his dedication to training by arriving early.

After cracking his knuckles and doing a few warm-up stretches, Odin pulled out one of his signature purple tomes and started casting a few spells. He began with minor hexes, as he always did, before increasing the difficulty to energy attacks shot at the training dummies. As usual, he made sure to hold back just enough that he wouldn't obliterate the wooden puppets, but used enough strength to at least knock them down. He was very grateful to not have inherited his uncle's knack for wrecking training dummies, especially considering how often he spent time honing his skills.

However, Odin's rigorous training came to a sudden halt after the dark mage spotted a gleam out of the corner of his eye, next to the piles of weapon crates. Walking closer, he could see that it was coming from the golden Yato blade, leaning up against the wooden boxes.

Walking closer to the sacred blade, Odin took yet another nervous glance around him, double-checking that no one was nearby.

"Lord Corrin? You er…left something behind! Something important!"

The only response came in the form of chirps from the birds in nearby trees, confirming to the dark mage that no one was around, let alone the Prince who had misplaced his trusty blade. Deciding there was nothing better to do, Odin carefully picked up Corrin's trusty sword and examined the weapon.

From a first glance, it was obvious that Corrin took very good care of the blade. It had an impeccable shine to it, and though a few nicks and bumps could be felt along the edges, they had been covered up nicely, more than likely at the forge within their castle in the astral plane.

"My sword hand twitches…" Odin muttered to himself, testing the weight and feel of the blade in his hands. Checking once more to ensure no one was around, he took a practice swing with the weapon, slashing at the air.

"Hmm!" He remarked, a hint of excitement in his voice. "A clean stroke, from a very light blade…it's a shame it already has a name, though…"

The dark mage finally let his curiosity get the best of him and walked back out onto the training grounds, Yato blade in hand. He marched up to one of the training dummies and readied the sword, entering one of his old combat stances.

"Cower in fear, evildoer!" He sneered towards the wooden dummy. "For Owain dark has returned, and his sword hand lusts for…revenge!"

He then began an assault of swift strikes against the dummy, doing his best to damage it but also ensure the Yato blade remained in tip-top shape. After all, he had to make sure that no one knew he was using it, and that no one knew of his skills with a blade, once mastered back home in Ylisse.

Meanwhile, Elise was just getting up, yawning sleepily and grumbling quietly to herself as she combed her flowing blonde hair in front of the mirror. She was not used at all to getting up so early in the day, and certainly didn't consider herself to be a 'morning person', by any means. But considering the reasons for her early wake up, things weren't all bad.

After all, she had a date.

"Hmm…what was it Odin said to bring again?" The Princess wondered aloud, finally getting up from her stool in front of the mirror and moving back to the many piles next to her bed, and taking a look at the small stack of books she had been given by Odin to read. She picked up the one on the top, recognizing it as the dark red tome the Dark mage had instructed her to bring along. Lastly, she grabbed her signature white staff, just in case. She knew she wouldn't need it, but she always liked having it with her, just for her own peace of mind.

Making her way outside, Elise could see the sun starting to rise over the large castle walls. It was quite a beautiful sight, and certainly one she was not usually up in time to see. She continued her walk, enjoying the different look of the castle without all of Corrin's army scurrying about. As she got closer to training grounds, she could hear yells from a very familiar voice, forming an excited smile on her face.

Odin was smiling as well, but for a different reason. It had been quite some time since the man's last chance at hand-to-hand combat, and he was quite enjoying his impromptu practice session. In fact, he was getting a bit too carried away.

"Finally, the finishing blow, with all my fell power!" The dark mage bellowed, tossing up the golden Yato and catching it on his backhand. As he did, a purple aura formed around him, with pink flower petals whipping up in a frenzy out of nowhere, suddenly surrounding the former swordmaster.

"Mystletainn's…stinger!"

The Yato blade effortlessly pierced straight through the wooden training dummy, the purple flames being given off by the weapon seemingly obliterating the midsection of the figure. It creaked loudly before falling backwards and splitting completely in two.

Odin quickly stuck the blade in the ground, rubbing his head sheepishly, finally coming back to reality.

"Ooh…that's gonna be a hard one to explain…"

"Oh wow! That was so cool, Odin! I had no idea you were that good with a sword! You could probably give Corrin a run for his money with moves like that!"

The dark mage spun around, a look of panic coming to his face as he saw the Nohrian Princess happily skipping towards him.

"With moves like that, you really should talk to Corrin about reclassing – maybe he'll let you be a swordsman instead of a mage!

"Er…" Odin began, unsure of what to say. If Selena or Laslow heard of what he had been doing, he was sure to get the lecture of a lifetime from them, so he had to ensure this stayed between him and his favourite Princess.

"Elise, let's have a seat. I've got a bit of explaining to do, I suppose."

The two walked over the nearby bench next to the training grounds, sitting down next to each other. Elise was very confused as to what was going on, and even more unsure of why Odin would hide such a prolific talent from them.

"So…uh…what's up?" The Princess cautiously asked.

"Where to start…" Odin mumbled. "Well, I can't tell you much, but let's just say that when I say I'm not from around here, I mean I'm really not from around here. Like from somewhere very, very far away."

"Okay, but I'm not sure what that has to do with-"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there…" The man continued. "Anyways, the place I'm from is so far from here that I had to change a lot of things about myself in order to blend in here. My method of combat was the most prominent one of those."

Elise scratched her head slightly; trying to wrap her head around the vague truths Odin was telling her. "Does that make you like a spy or something?"

The dark mage chuckled slightly in reply. "No, no, nothing like that," He quickly replied. "I promise I'm here just to assist all of you. But it's also important that my true identity stays a secret, for my own sake."

"Hey, hold on a second, is Odin even your real name?"

"Er…no."

Elise's eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Th-that's crazy!"

Odin nodded. "I really wish I could tell you more, but I can't…at least not for now. Can I count on you to keep my secret?"

"Um…only if you tell me more sometime. You've got me pretty curious."

The dark mage raised an eyebrow. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Elise giggled, and winked at her crush. "I prefer the term…'negotiating a deal'."

Impressed, Odin laughed, a smile forming on his face, before pulling the Princess into a surprise hug, which she gladly reciprocated.

"Ah…I quite enjoy my time with you, Lady Elise. Now then, shall we get into our training session? I believe I have some magic to teach you."

"Sure!" The Princess eagerly replied. "Er, but first, maybe we should get that Yato blade back to Corrin? If he wakes up without it, he might start to panic…"

Odin laughed. "As you command, Milady! Lead the way!"


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Corrin, Odin, and the others were finally close to returning to their home in Nohr. Now armed with a valid excuse due to Odin training Elise in the art of magic, the pair found themselves together more and more frequently. The dark mage also took the time, as promised, to teach Elise more of his 'dark tongue', his own odd dramatic way of speaking.

The Nohrian capital was finally within sight as the group walked together. After their most recent victory back with the Rainbow Sage, managing to defeat Hinoka and her Hoshidan comrades, morale had been boosted despite the unfortunate surprise death of the Rainbow sage himself. Elise and Odin walked side by side, though close to the back. Odin's keen intuition managed to pick up on Elise's accelerated breathing, and the fact she was having trouble keeping up with the others.

"We're almost home, Milady, it isn't much farther. Your comfortable bed awaits!" The Dark mage exclaimed, doing his best to try and encourage his friend. After getting no response but a weak smile, his brow furrowed in suspicion.

"Are you all right, Elise?" He asked, dropping his usual dramatic façade to express his concern. The Princess huffed again, before stumbling slightly, quickly caught and helped back up by Odin.

"N…no…"

The Dark mage quickly signaled to the others to stop, as Azura rushed to the side of Elise. The Princess was now leaning heavily on Odin, who was holding her up for support. He frantically looked over at Azura, who was studying the Nohrian Princess closely.

"It seems like she's gotten some sort of virus…more than likely some sort of bug from back in Notre Sagesse," The blue-haired songstress deduced, before turning to address Elise.

"Can you walk? We're close to Castle Krakenburg…but if you need to get to the Astral Plane, just tell us and we can stop here for the day to let you get some rest."

"I…I can't…"

Odin, refusing to see his closest friend give up, instead hoisted the Princess up onto his back, holding her legs to keep her on as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I can carry her back home," He told Azura. "We're so close, anyways."

Azura smiled slightly, glancing at Elise upon the man's back. "Oh, she seems more than pleased with that idea…"

Elise's face blushed as she burrowed her face into the side of Odin's neck, getting a laugh out of the Dark Mage and the surrounding soldiers, as Corrin approached the group, a troubled look upon his face.

"Is she all right?" He asked eagerly.

"She has some sort of sickness, more than likely from our recent travels," Azura explained. "We need to get her back to Castle Krakenburg."

"We have a better option, actually…" Corrin retorted. "We've been given new orders by King Garon, and luckily, for once they seem to coincide with what we need at this time."

"I think the last thing we need at this point is another march," Odin pointed out. "Our Princess looks as though she's ready to pass out…"

"Yes, but where we're headed will have what we need to cure her ailments, and can provide some much needed relief for our army," Corrin explained. "Garon has ordered us to Macarath, a nearby area where we can recover from our more recent battles. It is supposedly some sort of reward…but we have no option except to take it."

Odin nodded. "Well, we've no time to waste, then," He declared. "Lead the way, Lord Corrin."

The walk gave Odin plenty of time to consider his own feelings for Elise, while the Princess rested on his back. He had to make a decision soon, either confess and accept whatever consequences may come with it, or leave his feelings hidden. The man's thoughts were disrupted by a hard slap to his buttocks, as Niles walked up next to the man with his usual devious smile on his face.

"So, Odin, I've been hearing you and Elise…you know…"

"What?"

"Oh, you sly dog!" Niles chided. "Don't play dull with me! You guys, you know…did the ol' nasty! That's how Elise got sick! She's got some sort of disease from it!"

Odin rolled his eyes. "Something tells me you came up with this rumour, and you've been spreading it…" He grumbled. Niles laughed slightly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm just messing with you!" He confessed, before changing the subject. "But I am curious. What is going on between the two of you? Are you…together, or not?"

Odin shrugged slightly. "Not, I guess."

Niles frowned. "That's not very convincing. I'll take that as a maybe."

The dark mage laughed slightly. "Well…let's just see what the future holds, for now, then maybe someday I can give you an answer."

As Niles walked off once again, Odin drew himself back into thought. He knew what he needed to do next. If this was what he was going to do, he would need some sort of consultation with his family back home, something he had prepared for not long ago. He was a tad too embarrassed to talk with his parents about it, but he knew his sister would be all ears for a fresh piece of gossip from her older brother.

* * *

 **My apologies for the short chapter, but given how close this story is to reaching it's end, I wanted to put out something while I work on the finale. At the very latest, this story will be completed before the end of the year. Thank you to everyone who has read it so far! -Nate**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

While the journey to Palace Macarath was not a long trip, Elise's condition seemed to worsen even more on the trek, making it more and more imperative that she receive treatment sooner rather than later. To make matters worse, the group had an unexpected ambush waiting for them upon their arrival.

Ryoma stood at the Palace entrance, arms crossed with a defiant expression on his face. His most trusted Hoshidan soldiers, as well as his retainers, Saizo and Kagero, stood by his side.

"Corrin. It's been a while…" The Prince coldly greeted.

The young Nohrian Prince winced slightly. He hated to hear the disappointment and slight resentment in his brother's voice.

"Please, Ryoma, we need to get through," The Prince pleaded. "My sister, Elise, is gravely ill, and she needs treatment! I don't have the time to fight you right now!"

"Very well…" Ryoma slowly replied, "If you agree come with us back to your home in Hoshido, we will grant your friends safe passage into Palace Macarath. Consider it a trade. Your life for the life of your sister."

"Rrgh…you know I can't do that, brother."

"You would be so cold to your family? Well, I suppose that is what I have come to expect…" The Hoshidan Prince quipped, while drawing his blade. "Very well. Try and fight your way through. Our Hoshidan line will not be broken!"

He turned to his Hoshidan allies. "Grant them no quarter. We must not allow them entrance to the palace!"

"Gods damn it all…" Corrin cursed under his breath, drawing his Yato blade. "To arms, fellow Nohrians!" He called to his warriors. "We have to break through their defenses, and secure a route into the palace!"

The battle that followed was an intense struggle, with both sides refusing to yield. It felt as though every time Corrin and his forces managed to gain some ground on the Hoshidans, they would simply push back and force them to retreat and regroup. After Kaze's discovery of the use of the pots surrounding the battlefield, however, the group finally managed to get their first big breakthrough against their enemy, defeating Saizo and pressing forward, now just a few rooms from their goal of the main entrance to the heart of Palace Macarath.

"Not much further, Elise, hang on!" Odin muttered to himself, having volunteered to fight on the front lines in this battle. He sidestepped a quick slash from a Hoshidan samurai, before flicking his wrist and sending the enemy soldier flying into the wall with his dark magic. Normally, he was not so aggressive with his moves, but the Hoshidan's refusal to let them pass, in spite of Elise's condition, had him beside himself with rage. For how much they spoke about being the 'light' compared to Nohr's dark culture, this was a selfish and stubborn tactic for them to pull. Was Corrin really that important to them, or was this just an act out of spite?

"Odin! Watch your back!" Silas called from afar. The man was snapped back to reality as he just barely ducked a stray shuriken flying across the battlefield.

The dark mage cursed under his breath, with Silas charging in behind him on his horse, cutting down the enemy ninja. He glared slightly at Odin, saying something about paying attention in battle, before rushing off once more. The blonde-haired man didn't quite catch it, however, as he spotted Corrin and Ryoma dueling up ahead, just in front of the entrance to the main grounds of Palace Macarath.

Corrin was just barely holding his own against his brother, and only due to the reinforcements on his side as the Nohrians closed in on their goal. Kaze was providing support in the battle by throwing shuriken and weaving in and out to block sword blows by Ryoma. As Odin dashed into the fray to support, Ryoma could see he was clearly outnumbered. There was no winning this battle, so he was better off cutting his losses and letting his troops retreat to lick their wounds.

The red-armoured samurai parried blows from Kaze and Corrin before jumping backwards and calling to his troops.

"They've breached our defenses! All units, retreat!"

The other Hoshidans heard their commander, and began to withdraw, getting a cheer from the Nohrians, proud of their latest victory. Before Ryoma could walk off, however, Corrin called out to him.

"Brother! I don't want to have to fight you…is this truly our fate, to battle until one of us falls?"

Ryoma scoffed, giving his former sibling a dark, stern glare. "This became your fate the moment you squandered your birthright, 'brother'…" The samurai spat in reply, before dashing off with his Hoshidan troops.

"Shall we pursue them?" Silas asked, trotting up to Corrin and the others on his horse. The white-haired prince shook his head.

"We've got what we wanted. Besides, there's no need for unnecessary bloodshed. Elise's health is much more important at this time."

The cavalier nodded, before heading off to alert the others. Odin turned to Corrin as the two entered the main halls of Palace Macarath, taking a look around.

"Where's Elise?" The white-haired prince asked, getting a confused look from Odin.

"Well, she was being kept at the back line, for obvious reasons," The dark mage replied, "Why do you ask? Did you expect me to bring her with me?"

Corrin scratched his head. "Well, to be honest, I'm so used to seeing the two of you together, I figured you'd have carried her with you on your back or something," The prince confessed with a slight laugh.

Odin smiled. "Well, we are quite close. 'Two halves of the same whole', as a few of my old friends might have put it…"

"So…you two are a couple then?"

"Huh?" Odin quickly replied, raising an eyebrow and becoming slightly flustered, "What? Of – of course not! Where did you get that foolish idea, Lord Corrin? Elise is a most trusted confidant of the darkness within me, but nothing more than mere friends – no ceremonial relationship practices have been performed!"

Corrin scratched his head. It appeared that asking Odin would have been a much better solution to his original idea of getting his hands on that black book of his.

"Hm. I could've sworn I thought you two were together, given how often I see you with her."

Odin laughed nervously, putting a hand on the back of his head. "Ha ha…well, as I've already stated, we are quite close – but nothing more than friends, I swear!"

"Er, right. I heard you the first time, Odin."

The dark mage sighed, before remembering his original plan to figure out what to do with his whole situation. He took a look around at the gathered group nearby in the palace, before turning to Corrin.

"I'm afraid the darkness beckons me elsewhere, Lord Corrin!" The man declared, heading for a nearby hallway. "I must seek an audience with Lady Nyx! Our time together was a pleasure, see you again soon!"

Corrin waved goodbye to the man, before quickly cutting him off before he could leave.

"Er, Odin? Before you go, one last thing…"

"Yes? Is there a task you require of me?"

"Not quite. I just wanted to tell you I've gotten what I needed. I'm dropping out of that 'trials of justice' thing."

Odin's mouth gaped open, in a mix of both surprise and disappointment. "B – but you were so close! Almost a full-fledged man of Justice! Why would you flee from your destiny?"

Corrin smiled slightly. "Like I said, I got what I needed. Frankly, right now, my concerns are far too many to worry about this as well. Perhaps another time, when all this is over…"

The Dark mage frowned. "I won't mince words with you, your reply is disappointing," The man confessed, before pulling his black book from his robes and tossing it to Corrin.

"At the very least, read this. Then perhaps you'll find the motivation to become a man of justice once more!"

With that, Odin took his leave, disappearing down one of the many halls of Palace Macarath in hopes of finding Nyx. Corrin walked back over to the others, studying Odin's worn black book.

"Well, that was easier than expected, though I don't need this anymore, since Odin told me everything I needed to know…" He muttered to himself, before popping open the old text.

"No harm in having a little look, however…"


	18. Chapter 17

**Just wanted to point out that this chapter has heavy Awakening references. If you've only played fates, you may not understand all of them, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow nonetheless. Feel free to leave any questions in a review.**

* * *

Chapter 17

It didn't take long for Odin to find Nyx, who was holed up in one of the many storage rooms of the Palace, mixing together some sort of brew while reading from an ancient tome, seemingly enchanting the potion with dark magic.

"Hail, Lady Nyx!" The man called, catching the sorcerer off guard and causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Aah! What the – Odin, at least be bothered to knock before you come in…" The young-looking woman growled, having nearly dropped her potion.

"Er, yes, my apologies…" Odin humbly replied, bowing slightly. "I came here to seek your help – if you recall, we discussed quite some time ago you assisting me with some advanced dark magic…"

Nyx frowned slightly. "Frankly, I was starting to think you'd forgotten about your request…very well," The woman answered, putting down her potion and tome and folding her arms. "What will we be doing?"

Odin scratched his head, trying to figure out how best to explain his request. "There is a person I need to communicate with…but they aren't from anywhere around here," He began.

"What counts as 'not around here'?" Nyx asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…too far for me to explain. Let's put it that way."

There was a slight pause before the sorcerer smiled slightly. "All right," Nyx replied, "You've piqued my interest. As it so happens, I've come across such a spell in my years of studying. As long as you can envision the person you're looking for, I can get you in contact with them. That being said, it is a very…advanced, and taxing spell. I can only hold the communication between you two for a brief period. Probably…five minutes, at most."

"Five minutes is plenty of time," Odin assured. "I am in your debt, lady Nyx."

The woman scoffed. "Don't mention it," She muttered, before pulling another old, worn purple tome from her robes. "Now then…are you ready?"

The dark mage gulped slightly, before nodding, trying his best to relax his body for the spell.

"All right, then."

Nyx held out her hand, and a dark purple aura welled around her as she unleashed the ancient dark magic.

"Envision the person you're looking for, and close your eyes," The woman instructed. "It will just be a few moments before you make contact with them, and the rest is up to you…"

Odin closed his eyes, before the spell hit him in full force and he felt as though he was being flung around the room. The sickening sensation continued for a few seconds before it came to a sudden halt and he found himself standing in a small bedroom that he recognized all too well.

The sun was barely peeking through the glass doors of the room heading to the balcony, setting off in the distance. There was a bookshelf in the corner, filled with worn and heavily used books and tomes, along with a gleaming Levin sword leaning up against the shelf. Next to it was a small desk, covered in scrawled notes and a small picture in the corner, featuring four figures that were too hard to recognize from far away.

"A - AH! M-Morgan, th-th-there's some sort of vengeful spirit that just appeared in the room!" A panicked young man cried. He looked about as old as Odin, but was slightly taller, and had long ears and brown fur patched around his body. Upon spotting the dark mage, he quickly dived underneath the covers of the bed at the center of the room, the tops of his ears just barely sticking out from beneath the fabric.

"I'm too young to die!" The man wailed, his voice muffled from beneath the covers.

Odin turned as the glass doors at the corner of the room opened up and a blonde young girl stepped inside. She wore a black cloak, covered in strange purple insignia. As she spotted the dark mage standing just in front of her bed, she raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly.

"Um, hello there, strange-looking guy," The girl cautiously greeted. "What's up with the weird black glow around you? Is there something we can do for you? And also, while we're at it, who are you? You certainly don't look like you're from around here…"

Odin raised an eyebrow. "What is the meaning of your questioning of who I am-"

"Well, you see, stranger, I don't know you, so I figured I'd ask."

"It is I! Odin Dark, the chosen hero who has mastered the powers of infinite darkness!"

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Odin? Yeah, doesn't ring a bell…you're an awfully strange fellow, weird spirit thing," She remarked.

Odin groaned. "Really, Morgan? It's me, Owain…you know, your older brother?"

There was a slight pause before Morgan burst out in laughter. "Wainy, good gods…what in Naga's name are you wearing? Those clothes seem awfully tight…and awfully revealing! I mean, it's nice to see you've been keeping in shape, but still…a bit…too eccentric, don't you think? Even for you?"

Owain blushed slightly, feeling a bit flustered. "I didn't come here to have my clothing choices critiqued, Morgie!" He snapped back, though Morgan continued to chuckle slightly. Yarne finally moved out from his spot under the bed, watching Odin's ghostly figure closely, with his beaststone in hand just in case.

"All right, well…what are you here for, then? And I have to say; it is great to see you alive and well. No one knew what happened to you after you left with Inigo and Severa!"

Odin scratched his head. "Well, there's some advice I need from you."

"Ooh! What kind? Tactical advice? Girl advice? Evil dragon coming to kill ya?"

"Er…girl advice."

Morgan gave the dark mage a surprised look. "Wow, that was not the answer I expected!" She confessed. "Who is she?"

"She happens to be a sibling of the man I've been assigned to protect, where I'm from," Odin explained, doing his best to give a quick yet thorough rundown of his situation. "She is also a princess from a powerful kingdom, and a close friend of mine. I'm just trying to figure out…what to do, exactly. I mean, if I do end up marrying her, would I really have to rip her from her home and bring her back home with me when I leave? Is that selfish of me?"

Morgan laughed slightly. "Well, dad did always joke about marrying into royalty…" She muttered to herself, before turning back to Odin. "Well, my favourite sibling, is it really so hard for you to explain your situation to her? If I was in that situation, I'd much rather know what I was getting myself into. Let her know what the deal is. I know you have to come back home, but let her make that decision of whether or not that's worth it to her. If she doesn't think that's a decision she wants to make, then frankly, she's not for you."

"But, it's such a big commitment-"

"-And I'm sure she's a big enough girl to be able to decide for herself," Morgan quickly replied. "I'd follow Yarne to the ends of the earth, even if he is a bit of a scaredy-cat sometimes. You need to find someone like that for yourself."

There was a long pause, with Odin deep in thought, before smiling and nodding to his little sister.

"You're right. I knew the idea to seek consultation from you was a fantastic idea!" He praised.

"Well, while I would agree, I am slightly confused," Morgan admitted, "Why didn't you go talk to mom and dad instead?"

Odin blushed slightly. "Er…to be honest…it's a tad embarrassing to talk about something like this with them…"

Morgan laughed. "Yeah, I can see that. I hated having to talk to them about my Yarne. Though, it didn't take long for either of them to figure it out…"

Odin smiled, before feeling a pull from Nyx back in Nohr. "It seems I must return to from whence I came," The man declared, feeling his body start to fade from the bedroom and back to the room in the palace. "I will see you again, sister Morgan, and thank you properly for your sage wisdom!"

The dark mage's little sister smiled and waved to her older sibling. "Anytime, Owain! Come back soon!"

As he was finishing to fade from that world, Odin could've sworn he saw a black-robed man entering the room, carrying a stack of papers.

"Hey, Morgie, I've got a stack of proposals I'm going to present to the Ylissean council I'd like you to proofread for me – AAH! IT'S SOME SORT OF WEIRD FOREIGN GHOST WITH TIGHT CLOTHING! WHAT THE HELL-"

Odin's eyes quickly snapped open as he found himself back in the storage room in Palace Macarath. Nyx was panting heavily, draped over while catching her breath. Apparently, as expected, the spell had taken a lot out of her.

"Did you…find…what you were looking for?" She panted.

"Yes, I did," Odin replied with a slight smile. "Many thanks for the hard work, Lady Nyx! If there is ever a favour you are in need of, ask it of your magical ally and I shall do whatever is within my power to grant it to you!"

"Hah…thanks…" The woman sputtered, before sitting down on a wooden chair. Odin took his leave, intent on finding Elise. His first priority was helping nurse her back to health, but now he had a second task.

He supposed he would need a ring as well, and quite a bit of planning. The man gulped nervously just thinking about it.

"Well, no turning back now…"

* * *

 **Hey folks! First off, I want to apologize for the horribly inconsistent upload schedule on these chapters (Going from none in a month to two in two days), but I haven't forgotten my goal of having this story completed before the new year. I would hate to leave you all in suspense and never finish this story, since I hate when that happens when I read things on here. Also, a big thank you to all the people who have stuck through and kept reading, and everyone who keeps leaving reviews (Even the less than pleasant ones). Expect another chapter soon! Just one or two left to go!**

 **-Nate**


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Corrin walked around Palace Macarath for a while before finally taking a seat at a vacant bench in the Palace courtyard, and popping open Odin's famed 'Manual of Justice'. He took a peek around; just to make sure no one was watching, before nonchalantly flipping through the pages.

There was still a part of his mind with a slight sense of guilt for looking through Odin's prized possession, but his curiosity was certainly getting the better of him. And after all, the dark mage had offered it to him in the first place. It wasn't like he had stolen it, or done something of the like. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling of slight guilt from his brain.

Meanwhile, Odin himself was headed off to find Selena. He figured of all the people there, she was the one he needed to break the news to first, as it affected her in a way, too. After all, he had journeyed to Nohr with her and Laslow in the first place. However, even if she protested the decision, Odin's mind was set. The final call was up to him, after all.

The dark mage halted suddenly, spotting Selena sitting under a nearby stone arch, polishing off her steel sword. He gulped, unsure of how the red-haired retainer would react. It took a few moments of deep breaths before the man finally wandered over to his friend, who glared slightly at his approach.

"Do you need something, Odin?" She asked warily, unsure of what was going on. With the blonde-haired dark mage it was usually some sort of odd request, or a long monologue about things like 'the darkness within' and 'courage and justice' and the like.

"Well… there's something I wanted to tell you," Odin muttered, not meeting Selena's steel gaze out of nervousness.

"Yes? What might that be?"

"You remember when we had that discussion pertaining to the matter of my relationship with Elise? Where you suggested against me pursuing a relationship with her?"

Selena's gaze narrowed, and Odin felt as though her eyes were piercing straight into her soul. "…I do. The one where I reminded you that it would be cruel and selfish of you to take the chance of having to break her heart or rip her away from her friends and family? I remember that, too, and my opinion hasn't changed."

The mercenary raised an eyebrow and shot a confused look at Odin. "Dear gods, you didn't get her pregnant, did you? Niles has been running around, spreading a rumour that you did. And if that's true, this blade is going straight up your-"

"NO, NO!" Odin quickly stammered, cutting off the woman as she moved to stand up. "Nothing like that? Besides, if you heard it from Niles, why would you believe him?"

Selena kept her glare for a few tense seconds, before finally sitting back down, relaxing her muscles and loosening her tight grip on her sword.

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't believe him, but it did sound like you were headed towards saying something of the like."

"Well, how about this time, you let me finish talking before jumping to assumptions?" Odin huffed, glaring back at the woman.

"All right, then what is it? You planning on marrying her or something? Because if that's the case, then I'm sticking my sword in the same place I mentioned earlier…"

There was a long awkward pause as Odin rubbed his head, laughing sheepishly. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle breeze blowing through the courtyard.

"I…might be. BUT, before you try to kill me, at least let me explain," Odin quickly dictated. Selena tensed up once more, before nodding slowly at the Dark Mage.

"Well, make it a good one. I can't really tell you what to do, but I think I know a bad idea when I hear one."

Odin gulped nervously, before beginning his explanation of things.

"Er…so, at this point, I think it's pretty obvious that the feelings between Elise and I are mutual," He began, "Or, at least, so I've heard…anyways, I figured that I should at least ask the question of her, but with no secrets. I'll explain our situation as best I can, and tell her about my…dilemma. From there it's her decision, not mine. If she isn't willing to take that step, I won't make her, but if she decides to accept my proposal, well…she knows the consequences, so to speak."

Selena's brow furrowed. "That's a very…well thought out answer," She admitted. "Very unlike you. Actually, it sounds more like what your sister would say instead of you…"

"Well…she may have helped," Odin replied with a slight chuckle.

"Wait, seriously?" Selena quickly shot back. "How in hell did you get in contact with her?"

"Pshaw! You expect a masterful dark mage such as myself to reveal my secrets? Dream on!"

Selena rolled her eyes, before returning to her serious gaze. "However, all things considered, how do we know Elise won't just accept your proposal to make you happy, or make sure things don't get awkward? And you haven't even talked over this with Leo! Shouldn't he be involved?"

Odin scratched his head. "Well, agreeing to leave your family and go to a strange new world with someone just to make them happy would be a bit much, wouldn't it? And, for the issue of Leo…I don't have a way to get in contact with him at the moment, since he's away, but this can't wait any longer. If there's some punishment that comes with doing this, I'm more than willing to take it. I can't afford to put this off any longer."

Selena smiled slightly. "Ah, right. So you can get in contact with your sister, who is literally worlds away, but you can't get in touch with a fellow master of the dark arts still in our universe?"

"Okay, well, maybe I just don't want to have to ask him yet…" Odin admitted, laughing nervously. "I can't say I'd want to be on Prince Leo's bad side, so I'd much rather avoid it for as long as I can…"

The two looked at each other for a few moments, an awkward pause between them before Selena finally sighed and shrugged.

"Well, go nuts. Do your thing, Odin – I can't stop you, anyways. Just, um…"

The dark mage raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"…Good luck, or whatever. I hope it goes well." The mercenary blushed.

"O-ho-ho-ho!" Odin chortled. "Could it be? The red-haired demon mercenary has grown soft around her friend, Odin Dark? What a development!"

"All right, I've heard enough," Selena growled, getting up from her spot on the wall, "Say another word and I'm really gonna put this blade somewhere you don't want it to be."

"Eep! R-right, I'll just be going then…"

Meanwhile, Corrin was thoroughly disappointed by what he was finding while reading through Odin's 'manual of justice'.

"There isn't anything about him and Elise in here at all!" The prince whined to himself in frustration. "In fact, there isn't any sort of the 'darkest secrets' Odin was talking about, just a bunch of mumbo jumbo written in his weird slang!"

"Hm? What are you doing out here, Lord Corrin…ooh, a bit of light reading, hmm?"

The white-haired prince spun around to see Niles walking over with his usual mischievous grin on his face. Before Corrin could stop him, he deftly snatched Odin's book and began flipping through the pages.

"What is this? Hand written and packed with writing…ooh, is it someone's diary? How saucy…but I never pegged you for a thief, big guy – but I suppose you just continue to surprise me!"

"Hey, give that back!" The Prince snapped. "And anyways, firstly, it's not a diary, or at least I don't think it is, and secondly, I didn't steal it! Odin gave it to me!"

Niles gained a slightly disgusted look, peering at the small black text once more. "Oh, is this that 'manual of justice' thing Odin always rambles about? How boring. And here I was thinking you found something worthwhile…"

The outlaw turned retainer lazily tossed the book back to Corrin. "Odin kept pestering me to join his 'justice cabal' thing when we first met, saying he didn't have an archer in it 'back where he came from', but I kept thinking he was spouting nonsense, so I finally managed to sneak a peek at that book and it confirmed my assumptions," Niles explained.

"How so?" Corrin asked, intrigued.

"Take a look for yourself. His supposed old 'Justice Cabal' and their numerous adventures that are apparently in the history books across the nations…recognize the names of any of those people? Cynthia? Morgan? And this other character with his name erased, is clearly just Odin but with a sword…it's pretty clear to me."

"Er…I'm afraid I'm not following. I don't recognize any of those names."

Niles rolled his eye. "Well, obviously. They don't exist, Corn brain."

"Don't call me that."

The one-eyed outlaw ignored the comment and continued. "Odin's a bit of an odd character, so it figures he'd have something like this," He continued. "At first I thought it was ridiculous, but now I just think it's a nice hobby for his downtime. We all have odd fantasies, don't we? Some a bit more…colourful, than others…"

Corrin paused for a moment, before shrugging and nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess so…still, seems like an awful lot of work just for some made up fantasy land."

"Are you saying you don't think Odin would do something like that?" Niles quipped in reply. "We both know the same guy, don't we?"

Corrin laughed slightly, before stuffing the book into the pocket of his robes.

"I'm going to go give this back to Odin," He declared. "I've seen what I need, anyways. Er…thanks, I guess, Niles."

"Whatever you say, pretty boy," The white-haired Nohrian drawled, before wandering off.

Corrin ran into Odin in another of the many vacant hallways of Palace Macarath. The dark mage waved cheerfully at the Prince, and Corrin could easily notice the extra pep in the man's step.

"Hail, Lord Corrin! How does the day find you?"

"Er, good?"

"Ah! Magnificent!" Odin replied with a gleaming smile.

Odin's vibrant and slightly off-putting personality was more than enough for Corrin to accept Niles' theory regarding the Manual of Justice.

"Well, I have this back for you," The Prince declared, pulling Odin's book from his pocket and handing it back to it's owner. "I found it…er…enlightening, but as I said before, I'll have to pass on that whole 'Cabal' thing. It is quite impressive, however, all the things you wrote in that book, I'll give you that!"

Odin's smile widened as he took the book back from Corrin. "Yes, I have had a great many adventures! Such is the life of Odin Dark!"

The young prince grinned slightly. Maybe, just maybe, he was beginning to enjoy Odin's eccentric personality.

"You know what? You're an all right guy, Odin. You've saved the lives of so many of us here with your magic, and you're a pretty good friend."

The dark mage laughed, blushing slightly. "Oh, you embarrass me with your flattery, Lord Corrin! I swear my raging tome hand and I will continue to do our best in your service!"

The white-haired man laughed. "Well, I'm more than happy to have you on my side in this war, Odin. Now then, where are you headed at the moment? Off to see Elise?"

The man's eyes brightened. "Why, yes, in fact!" He confessed. "I am on my way to confess my undying love for her, and form a proposal of marriage! Wish me luck, Milord!"

With that, the dark mage dashed off, leaving Corrin standing alone, dumbfounded. He considered dashing off after him to say something about thinking he wasn't good for Elise or something of the like, but dismissed the idea.

"I've meddled enough, I think," He muttered to himself. "After all, I have bigger problems than the relationship of my foster sister… and who knows, I'm just starting to like Odin. Let's see where things go from here."

* * *

 **One chapter left! Thanks to everyone for the support and reviews thus far. Obviously, I didn't meet my self-imposed deadline, but I didn't want to release chapters that I didn't think were written well enough for me to be proud of. I look forward to sharing the finale of this story with all of you! As always, thanks so much for reading!**

 **-Nate**


	20. Endgame: A Light in the Darkness

Endgame

Odin nervously paced the hallway outside of Elise's room, waiting for the Nohrian Princess to stir. He figured it would be best to simply get his proposal over with, instead of waiting around. However, Elise's condition made that matter complicated. While her sickness had been treated, the blonde cleric was still recovering from her illness, and catching up on her sleep. The healers had her in a stable condition, so all that was left was for her to awaken from her slumber.

"The second she wakes, that's when I'll get her with the declaration of love!"

"Really? Geez, you're wasting no time…what is it, the hormones? Can't take it anymore?"

Odin spun around to see Niles leaning against the wall nearby, his signature mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"Gah! What is it now, my devious ally?" Odin hissed, trying to keep his voice down as to not wake Elise.

"Just checking in, had to make sure you were still alive," The one-eyed man chuckled. "The others were saying you ran into the main part of the palace, yelled something about love and Elise, before dashing off this way. I figured it had something to do with proposing to her, like you've been blabbing about – that, or you were doing something much more nasty."

Odin paused for a moment before glaring slightly towards his friend. "So that you do not go about spreading false rumours, I will tell you – the mighty Odin dark does plan on proposing to lady Elise. She is the light in my life that has found a way into my heart of the darkest darkness!"

Niles rolled his eyes before snorting loudly. "The light of your life? Really? Good gods, that's corny…" He snickered. "Well, anyways, I'll leave you to it. But when Leo asks about the rumours regarding you and his little sister…well, that one's on you, big boy!"

"As it should be," Odin snapped back. "I'll do whatever it takes to win Elise's love!"

Niles smiled slightly at the dark mage before turning and walking off down the hall, humming a playful tune to himself. Once he was gone, Odin returned to pacing nervously in front of the doorway.

"Now then, how to do it…" He muttered to himself, going over his plan once more, "I should try to remain casual…maybe even let her bring up the idea? No, that sounds a bit too complex…maybe I'm just overthinking this."

Just then, Felicia cracked open the door, smiling at Odin. "Er, Elise is up and moving, if you want to…talk with her," She told him, trying not to stutter. "She'll be fine, so the other healers and I will…clear out now."

"Many thanks, fair maiden Felicia!" The dark mage told her with an added wink. "I will rush to find you once more if lady Elise requires your assistance!"

With a nervous gulp and one last touch-up to make sure he looked all right, the dark mage wandered into Elise's room.

"Er…Princess Elise? Are you awake?" He asked upon entering, hearing a slight, quiet yawn in reply. Looking over at the blonde cleric's bed, he saw her stretching and slowly starting to sit up, rubbing her eyes.

"Wow…I was really out for quite a while…" She mumbled, running a hand through her long hair, before spotting a red-faced Odin standing near the door.

"Aah! O – Odin? What are you doing here?"

"Um…er…nothing, nothing!" The man instinctively stammered, being caught slightly off guard. "Well, actually, I am here for something…I came to talk to you."

"Ooh!" Elise cheerfully exclaimed. "Are we gonna talk more about darkness, or something? Do you have another cool story about that 'Justice Cabal'? Or…something else? Hm…I know! Is this some sort of test? Like a guessing game! I've gotta figured out what you're trying to tell me, based on you acting out what you're thinking, or something like that!"

"No, no, none of that!" Odin quickly replied, causing Elise to frown, looking somewhat disappointed, and hoping she hadn't offended her crush by coming on so strong.

"Actually, I'm here to talk to you about something different entirely. A more serious topic that troubles the infinite darkness within my heart."

"Oh no! What is it?" The Princess asked with a worried look, figuring she was 'playing along' with another one of Odin's dramatic monologues.

"Er…" The blonde mage began, going redder by the second as he struggled to figure out what to say next. He had planned out the entire conversation in the time he had beforehand, but all of that had been thrown out the window now that he was thrust into the real situation.

" _Right. Make it casual. Act natural. Stay calm…"_ The mage thought to himself, before giving Elise a serious look, meeting her curious gaze.

"There are…rumours, going about the army, regarding the two of us. Troubling rumours."

"Huh? Like what?"

Odin scratched his head, a bit of a sheepish look forming on his face. "Well, rumours that our time together has blossomed into some sort of romance. And, according to Niles, a bit extra beyond that…"

It was Elise's turn to have her face go beet red, upon hearing the mage's words. Her excitement dropped, however, as she came to a conclusion about what the mage was inciting. By saying these were troubling rumours, was he implying that he didn't like the idea of it?

"Well, that's uh…bad…" The Princess mumbled, averting her gaze from the blonde older man. "But anyways, we just have fun chatting and such, nothing like that…no…romance…or anything…"

Odin nodded in agreement, though taken slightly aback by Elise's reaction. He was expecting something a bit more…excited. After all, if she did like him, the man assumed she would be much more receptive to rumours of a relationship, and imply that they should embrace it.

"So, um…what are we gonna do?" Elise meekly squeaked, shuffling her feet on the floor beside her bed.

" _Okay. Screw it. Throw it out there. We're out of options."_ Odin decided in his head.

"Well, I mean…we could always just get married, I guess," He suggested with a slight smile, feeling his heart beat right through his chest. The man's throat was drying up from his nervousness, as he struggled to finish his sentence without stuttering. "Then they'd all stop complaining about us being together – in fact, they'd probably expect it instead…"

Elise's mouth gaped open, as she looked up at Odin, who was now doing everything he could to avoid the Princess's gaze, and she could see his face was flush with colour.

The blonde cleric quickly tried to formulate some sort of response, but came up blank, completely floored by Odin's sudden proposal of an idea she had been hoping would come up for quite some time now.

"E-er…just kidding, of course," Odin sputtered, having taken Elise's silence as a no. "Um…anyways…wanna hear about my new demon sword? It's a straight blade, black and purple and-"

"Hey, er…Odie?" Elise managed to squeak, feeling her own heart beating through her chest. She knew she would have only one opportunity to say how she really felt, and was terrified of messing up or getting rejected.

"Maybe…getting married…isn't such a bad idea?"

The dark mage's eyes widened as a shocked look formed on his face, staring down the blushing princess.

"Um – er – I – what?"

"I said, getting married isn't a bad idea!"

Odin scratched his head. "You do know what marriage is, right Lady Elise?"

The Princess glared slightly. "Uh, yeah! Of course, dummy! Don't you go treating me like a kid, like everyone else does – that's one of the reasons why I like you, after all!"

Elise quickly covered her mouth, realizing what had slipped out of her mouth. If there was a shade of red deeper than the complete blush that was on her face a few seconds ago, she had reached it.

Odin simply stood with a completely shocked look on his face, too flustered to reply.

" _Good gods, why didn't I do this sooner?"_ He thought to himself.

"Well…um…I'm not sure how to respond," The dark mage laughed, rubbing his head. "I guess marriage is a good idea, then – thank the gods, because I love you more than any other whom I have ever laid eyes upon!"

Elise giggled. "So, you've got lovey feelings too, then?"

"Yep. And all for you. Well, as long as that's okay, that is."

"Oh, trust me, this Princess has no objections!"

After pausing for a moment, Odin took a seat next to Elise on the bed, and finally took her hand in his.

"I hope you know, everyone will disapprove of us being together," He explained. "They know…they know I'm not worthy of your hand."

The blonde royal rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well you're worthy to me – and if they have a problem with that, they'll have to go through me first!"

Odin laughed. "Well, if that's out of the way…there's something else I need to explain to you. It may be…a little hard to believe."

Elise smiled, squeezing the dark mage's hand in reassurance. "Whatever it is, it won't stop me from loving you. I feel like I'm on top of the world right now!"

Odin grinned, before scratching his head. "Well then, where to start…"

"Would you believe me if I told you my real name isn't Odin?"

"As long as it's a cooler name than that."

The mage chuckled. "Oh, trust me, it is. Well, that's a good start – What about if I told you I'm actually from a whole different time period, and I'll have to go home someday, and I want to take you with me?"

Elise's mouth gaped open. "Er…that's a bit more to take in," She replied with a slight laugh. "But it doesn't matter. I'd follow you anywhere, Odie – er, whatever your name really is, I guess."

The dark mage laughed. "Well, when no one else is around…you can call me Owain."

"Owain…yeah, that is a pretty cool name!" The Princess giggled. "Wow, this sure is a lot to take in…"

"It's a big commitment," Odin agreed. "You sure you're not having any second thoughts?"

"I wouldn't trade you for any world, Odie – er…Owain, I mean. I'm gonna have to get used to that."

"Well then, now that that's all covered…" The mage muttered, before locking eyes with his soon-to-be wife.

"Lady Elise, all I want, in this world and all others, is to stay by your side. Please marry me."

The Princess smiled, and the two locked lips for the first time. After a long embrace, they slowly pulled away, both extremely red.

"I'm prepared for anything," Elise declared cheerfully, "As long as I've got you."

"Then tomorrow, we'll go pick out a ring for that pretty little hand of yours! But first…I think we should go break the news of our confessed love to the others! Follow me, Lady Elise!"

 **The End**

* * *

 **First off, I want to apologize for how long it took to get this last chapter done. I could make all sorts of excuses, but at the end of the day, I simply lost interest in this story. However, I wanted to make sure it got finished since it had a large following. Thanks to everyone for reading, and a special thank you to Niom Lamboise who offered all sorts of helpful advice while this was being written. I couldn't have done this without you.**

 **This is an earlier end to the story than was originally intended, so sorry if it feels a little rushed. I was more concerned with trying to wrap things up properly.**

 **Let me know what you thought! In terms of future projects, I may be taking a bit of a break for a while. If Heroes or Echoes really draw me in, I may do stories based on them, but for now I'm working on my own stuff. I have a 'continuation' of sorts to this story, going back to Ylisse and bringing back characters from my past stories, but it's more something I'm writing for personal enjoyment and my own headcanon, and isn't something I plan on posting here unless people really wanted to see it or something.**

 **Anyways, have a great day! I hope you enjoyed getting to read this, as much as I enjoyed the positive reaction this story got!**

 **-Nate**


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